Scars
by OChaven
Summary: All her life, Meili had wondered what it was like to have a family. And as she watched another child walk through the doors of the orphanage, hand-in-hand with a young couple, her heart ached more and more to walk through those wooden doors. But after a few years of continuous prayers, she finally gave up. After all, why would a family choose the little girl with a scar?
1. Chapter 1

**Before we begin...**

Thank you for clicking on my story Scars. I hope you guys enjoy this FanFiction - based on probably one of the most memorable cartoons out there.

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own any of the characters, besides my own. All ideas outside of the canon universe are of my own imagination. Please enjoy, and follow the story to stay updated on when I post my next chapter. Happy reading, lovies! :)

* * *

All her life she had wondered what it was like to have a family. She wondered what it was like to have the warm embrace of a hug; what it was like to be _cherished_. And as she watched another child walk through the doors of her orphanage, hand-in-hand with a young couple, her heart ached more and more.

She _ached_ to be chosen. Her heart _longed_ to walk through those wooden doors. But after a few years of continuous prayers, she finally gave up.

After all, why would a family choose the little girl with a scar?

That was how Meili felt throughout her childhood: bitter, unwanted, _alone_.

Living at the orphanage since birth, the girl had grown cold and unemotional as the years went on, isolating herself from the other kids. She didn't mind it much. It wasn't like they talked to her, anyways. She was smaller than most girls her age, had a quick temper, and tended to keep to herself.

The door to the orphanage she had been scowling at finally closed softly, but to Meili, it sounded as if it was slammed. The clanking sound of footsteps of the couple and their new child slowly diminished, and the girl turned away as the sounds disappeared completely. The twelve-year-old sighed as she glanced to look at the other orphans, most of which still had their hopeful grins. But some began to grow like her: dejected and sad.

Meili huffed. Of _course_ the child that was adopted, Huiyin, would've been chosen. Huiyin was a young girl with an angelic face and dimples sweeter than a dumpling. Her soft jaw and childish features contrasted Meili's heavily. The girl was older, more rugged, and cold.

Meili honestly didn't care for how she looked; whether it be sweet and innocent or cruel and gruff, she wouldn't be adopted anyways. Her face was too marred — the adults must have thought that the spirits cursed her at birth.

Meili got up from her spot in the corner of the orphanage to go find solitude in one of the many shared bedrooms, ignoring the stares and tensed up bodies of those she passed. She paid no mind to their opinions. They didn't matter. Meili told herself this out of comfort, but she knew it wouldn't lessen the pain of their judgment.

The only person she paid any mind to was a little boy reading a book in the corner of the main room.

The boy's name was Jai and for the past two years, had been Meili's sole source of companionship. He was abnormally snarky for a child and tended to cause most of the mischief that occurred within the orphanage. His impish smile became well known to the caregivers, and most of them knew that when he chuckled and grinned, trouble was only a moment away.

He was the only one in the orphanage that had actually taken the time to befriend Meili, begrudgingly to her. Since the girl was quite unnerving, most of the other children barely glanced her way. If she was on the swings outside, the kids would opt to play tag instead. If she was eating dinner at the table, the children would choose to eat in their rooms.

But Jai, who was only four-years-old when he had entered the orphanage, had yet to be plagued by the poisonous opinions of others. His childish-innocence had obliviously given him the courage to talk to the girl. He never saw Meili's solitude as a scary front, anyways. He saw it as _loneliness_. And the short time he spent out on the road by himself fending for food showed him just how hard it was to be lonely.

Jai's parents had been murdered during a Fire Nation raid in a neighboring town before he arrived at the orphanage. He, like Meili, didn't talk to most of the other kids when he first arrived, but his reasoning was one of mourning.

Meili often wondered what Jai saw in a girl like her — broken and isolated. In all honesty, he sometimes wondered that himself. But a part of Jai's mind told him that it was because she resembled his late mother.

Meili shook her head with a sigh, turning her gaze away from where Jai was reading. She silently stepped her way into one of the small bedrooms, closing the door softly behind her. She wanted to scream, punch something, maybe even kick the wall — but she instead settled on slowly sliding down the closed door until she was sitting on the cold, wooden floor. Meili threw her head into her hands.

For once in her life she wanted to be happy. Her only wish was to be wanted. Hadn't the spirits done enough to her already? They left her homeless and family-less since birth. What more would they take from her?

She liked to believe that something was waiting for her beyond the wooden doors to the orphanage, and that a better life was going to be presented to her on a silver platter of sorts. It was futile thinking she realized. Luck just wasn't something that was in her favor.

A sudden explosion lurched her from her thoughts.

The girl, drawn to the detonation, hopped up from her position on the floor, swinging open the bedroom door in urgency. Dust wafted up into her face as the sudden opening of the door triggered a gust of wind, and she coughed violently to rid the dirt from her lungs. She glanced left and right to make sense of the situation and also scanned the cloudy room for Jai.

Cries of the orphans rang through the air, making the girl tense up slightly. What was happening? Who was doing this?

A barrage of fire interrupted her thoughts, and a handful of armored men stormed into the orphanage.

"Firebenders!" a voice cried, sending the inhabitants of the room into havoc. The young orphans scattered around the small living room, most of the young children crying in fright. They took their position behind some of the couches, hoping to avoid any confrontation with the soldiers. Jai ran out from somewhere in the room into Meili's arms, weeping softly into her dusty, brown skirt.

Of course since the war had begun, the Fire Nation had been to their Earth Kingdom town before. Gaipan, the name of the town, had been rather prosperous, making it a high target for the overbearing Fire Nation. A few years back, they had raided Gaipan in an attempt to collect a 'tax money' of sorts to aid their war expenses. Never before had they actually been _violent_ with the orphanage inhabitants, although no one seemed surprised that a situation of destruction suddenly arose.

The small army of men stormed into the rickety orphanage behind an overly-armored soldier — presumably the leader — mounted on top of a Komodo rhino.

"Where is our money?" he stated gruffly, his voice sending chills down everyone's spine.

One of the caregivers, Pelahn, took a step forward. She was the only worker in the orphanage that actually cared for the kids and treated the orphans like a family member would. She was mainly viewed as the mother figure for the kids – primarily the toddlers. Tears were slipping down her usually happy face, and she begged and pleaded the man with everything she had.

"Please! Oh please give us another day – I have three quarters of the money! If I just had a little more time—"

"I gave you two weeks," the Fire Nation soldier growled. "That is _plenty_ of time to get the money you need."

Pelahn's lip trembled, "Please! You have to understand — Everything has been moving slower. People don't want to adopt kids in the midst of a war! It's too much of a burden!"

"Excuses don't matter to me," the soldier stated. "You are actively defying the orders of Fire Lord Ozai, and the sentence to that defiance is _death_."

The leader advanced forward with an outstretched hand, blade clasped tightly in his rough fingers. He ignored Pelahn's pleas, and lifted up his weapon in preparation to strike.

A sudden clank interrupted the man's advances, and his long, iron sword fell to the ground. The Fire Nation soldier yelled out in anger, twisting his head up to where interruption had originated from. A shadowy figure was situated on top of the, now, burning roof.

The scarred girl couldn't help but gawk as the shadow sprang into action, his twin tiger-hook swords wrapping around the leader's wrists before yanking him off of the Komodo rhino. Just as the mysterious figure began to take out the rest of the soldiers, arrows were fired from above, and they took out another vast majority of the Fire Nation troops.

Another small figure jumped in with a small dagger, attacking a few of the soldiers while a bigger shadow began takin some out with a log of wood.

Jai's face lit up, taking an interest to the sudden saviors while Meili grew suspicious. Who was this rag-tag team of men? Were they thieves? Bandits?

And just as soon as they had appeared, they had vanished, leaving everyone wondering who had just managed to take out a whole fleet of Fire Nation soldiers almost single-handedly.

Meili let out a deep breath as she bent down to Jai's level, inspecting his body to ensure that he was okay. She was a little surprised when she looked up into his eyes. The young boy's face was lit up in excitement despite what had just happened. All _he_ knew was that someone totally awesome had just taken down all those men!

"Did you see that?" he questioned lowly, his grin spreading from ear to ear.

Meili nodded her head, standing back up from her crouched position, "Kind of hard to miss."

She surveyed the now ruined orphanage, which was half engulfed in flames. To the rest of the orphanage, it looked like hell, but to Meili, it looked like heaven. A chance to escape. To change her life. Meili grabbed onto Jai's hand, squeezing it slightly as she nodded toward the door, "How would you like to finally leave this place, Jai?"

The two kids had spent a whole year together almost inseparable. She knew that it would be hard for the, now, five-year-old boy to be back on the streets again, but she hoped that he would agree to her suggestion. The boy's face merely showed a little sign of confusion. He knew it was a strict law in the orphanage that they were not allowed to run away. It would cause the facility to lose future profit.

"I thought we couldn't? Pelahn always said it would get them in trouble…"

Meili sighed slightly, picking the boy up from the ground before placing his small frame on her back, "I think it's about time we were given family... what do you say, Jai? How do you like the idea of you and me becoming a family? Brother and sister?"

A smile erupted from the small boy's lips, nodding at the girl's suggestion, "Let's go then!"

And so in the midst of the commotion, rubble, and ash, the two orphans fled from the scene, escaping their past to create a new future. Together.


	2. Chapter 2

Welcome to chapter two! Happy reading :)

* * *

The next few days were hard for the orphans.

Meili and Jai had stolen only a little bit of food before they left the town of Gaipan, so their half-empty stomachs were rumbling uncontrollably. In addition to their stolen food, the kids had obtained some other things as well: Meili snagged an overly-large, white cloak from a merchant and Jai swiped an overly-large helmet from a blacksmith.

Grabbing garments that insulated heat wasn't the smartest idea, though. Neither of the orphans had taken a shower in over a week — so both their new clothes _and_ the heat of the forest were _not_ helping their unpleasant odor.

They had traveled north from their village down one of the trading routes, but weren't prepared for how taxing the journey would be. At some point, they had strayed from the winding dirt road and decided to travel through the trees to be more inconspicuous.

Jai suddenly tugged on Meili's skirt, telling her softly to stop walking. Apparently he had seen a fire coming from the east, which meant there were either Fire Nation soldiers or someone camping out. More than likely, it was the former.

The two orphans crouched low to the ground, and Meili told Jai to arm himself. She had taught him how to fight throughout the year they spent together at the orphanage, despite his young age. Meili didn't think it was bad to be overcautious.

They crept slowly to where the fire was originating from, peeking through some bushes when they reached the outskirts of the camp. Thankfully that's all it was. A camp. There were no Fire Nation insignias in sight, and Meili grinned. That made things a _whole_ lot easier.

"I see food," Jai whispered, his mouth watering at the statement. He jerked his head over to the right, signaling to Meili where it was located. It was gathered in nets and propped up against a barrel. Meili nodded when the food came into her view, quickly informing the boy of her plan.

She was going to creep around the side of the camp to make sure the way was clear. Jai, since he was smaller and faster, was going to quickly run over to the food and steal some. The plan was fool proof. A get-in, get-out mission.

The twelve-year-old girl stealthily stalked over to the opposite side of the camp with Jai following closely behind. Once she arrived, she peered her head into the camp. The fire was still going, although not by a lot — the embers remained stained in a bright red scorch. She glanced around at the tents, most of which were taken down, before signaling that the place was clear.

Jai nodded, quickly stepping out of the foliage and into the camp. His imploring eyes surveyed the land before they landed on the barrel. His little legs got him there abnormally fast, and he wasted no time in grabbing the top of a sack of bread and apples.

"What do we have here?" a voice suddenly spoke up, causing the young boy to drop the sack he had just grabbed. "It seems we've discovered a _thief_."

Jai tensed up as he was suddenly lifted up from the ground by the front of his shirt. He kicked and flailed, grabbed at his attacker's wrists, but the boy's grip didn't falter.

"I don't really like thieves..." the voice trailed off, and Jai opened up his eyes to face the man. He had brown shaggy hair and sinister eyes. The amber-colored orbs were squinting in anger, and his eyebrows were furrowed together in a scowl. "What do you think I should do with him, guys?"

His group blurted out various punishments that would satisfy them, and the attacker grinned at each one. Jai closed his eyes once again, attempting to drown out the scary situation at hand.

Meili watched from the sidelines of the camp with a scowl of her own. She tsked as she opened the pouch situated on her hip. If these people were going to make things hard, well, she wasn't afraid of getting dirty.

Jai flailed more as the attacker rose up a fist in full preparation to strike. As he swung down his arm to deck the small boy in the face, a sudden flash smacked the attacker's trajectory out of the way, forcing him to drop Jai down to the ground.

As he looked up from his dazed position to locate his assailant, only a blur of white filled his vision before he was pushed down to the ground. The impact was so strong, his hooked swords were knocked down to the ground in a large, ringing clatter.

"Touch him again, and you'll regret it."

The boy now lying on the forest floor was stunned to say the least. This mystery attacker, whoever they may be, took him out in mere seconds. Him, the leader of a group. He could also tell by their voice that they were a girl, surprising him even more that a woman could stop his advances.

"Is that a threat?" the boy spat, not fighting back from his position on the ground in the slightest. If anything, he wanted to see what else this girl could do.

The girl pulled a knife out from the pouch on her hip before stabbing it on the ground mere inches from the boy's head, "It's a promise."

The mysterious boy smirked, the wheat in his mouth bobbing up and down with the curve of his lips. He grabbed the wrist of the hand still clutching onto the knife by his head before flipping the girl over, situating himself on top of her tiny figure. In the process, he had managed to grab ahold of her knife and was now pressing the dagger into the tip of her throat. Her white hood fell down and pooled underneath of her head, revealing to the boy what the girl looked like.

Her black hair cascaded down her shoulders in a mess, emphasizing just how pale her skin was. Thin brows furrowed in a scowl to frame her seafoam-colored eyes. One of those light green orbs drew in his attention, his gaze analyzing the long gash running down the left side of her face. The scar was ugly, and the girl's look grew angrier the longer the boy analyzed the mark.

The attacker suddenly got off of the girl with a grin, grabbing one of her wrists before lifting her up with him as well. Her swirled the girl's knife around his fingers, before extending the weapon towards her. "My name is Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters."

The black-haired girl pulled her hood back over her head as soon as she stood up and snatched her knife out of the boy-named-Jet's hand.

Jai looked over at his un-biological sister, letting out a sigh of relief that she was safe. Meili's eyes met Jai's briefly before they returned to the threat in front of her, the boy who called himself Jet.

The brunette in front of Meili held out his hand, attempting to instill some type of truce. The twelve-year-old girl wasn't having it, however, and smacked the boy's hand away.

"Don't think you can win me over with a smile and a handshake," Meili said distastefully. "You threatened Jai, and nothing you do is going to change that fact. You were prepared to strike a _child_ over something so trivial."

Jet shrugged and picked up his hooked swords, strapping them onto his back once again.

Jai suddenly lifted up a finger, "Hey! You're that guy from the orphanage! The one that took out all of those Fire Nation soldiers!"

"You're smart, kid," Jet grinned. "Pretty strong too."

"Not as strong as _you_ ," he beamed back. "All of you guys are strong!"

"Let's not flatter them," Meili mumbled, grabbing ahold of her brother's shoulder. "I think it's time to get a move on."

"You don't have to leave so soon," Jet insisted, stretching an arm out in front of Meili's form. "We're always looking for new members."

"Really?" Jai asked in excitement. The small five-year-old turned to Meili, "Can we please?"

The black-haired girl rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself down, "What's the catch."

"No catch," Jet grinned, too nice for Meili's liking, chewing on the wheat in his mouth. These men saved Meili at the orphanage, and gave Meili and Jai the head start they needed to be free, but their good deed didn't make her convinced that they were innocent. Even though her suspicions were high, however, Meili couldn't deny Jai's right to choose what he wanted do with his life. And wherever he went, she would follow.

"Then I guess I concede," Meili reluctantly agreed, looking defiantly into Jet's eyes.

Jai jumped in excitement, hugging Meili's leg fiercely.

"All we need are some nicknames for you guys," Jet grinned before gesturing to his friends behind him. "These are my Freedom Fighters: Sneers, Longshot, Smellerbee, and Pipsqueak."

"So by nicknames, you mean we have to have some ridiculous pet name?" Meili asked in her forever sarcastic tone, crossing her arms.

Of course Jai was the complete opposite.

"What's mine? What's mine!"

"Woah, calm down there, kid," Jet grinned, bending down to his level. "As I said before, you're a pretty feisty kid and didn't mind putting up a fight.. so how about The Duke? You know .. as in a fight?"

"I love it!" the little boy screamed, jumping up and down in his place. "Meili, isn't The Duke so awesome?"

The black-haired girl smiled at her brother, seeing his face light up more than it had in the past year, "It's great."

Jai, now nicknamed The Duke, pointed up to her, "What about Meili's?"

Jet looked pointedly at the girl for a while, analyzing her before nodding his head slightly, "Whiteflash."

"Whiteflash?" Meili repeated. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Jet gestured to the girl's cloak, "You're wearing white, and appeared out of nowhere in a flash.."

".. I guess that makes sense.."

"Hey, Jet, we should take our stuff back to the hideout," the one name Smellerbee stated, turning around in her spot. "Then we can get our new members a meal."

"You guys have a hideout?" Jai asked incredulously.

" _We_ have a hideout," Jet corrected, grinning as he looked at the two new recruits. "C'mon, I'll take us there."

* * *

The introduction to the Freedom Fighters was brief, apparently because they always had members coming and going. Jai immediately fell in love with the group, talking about how he finally had a home.

The two orphans soon found themselves falling into step with the rest of the members; the first few months of their arrival were spent helping out around the treetop hideout. Meili would do the menial chores like laundry, cooking, and food-collecting — something she found quite sexist — while Jai spent time making traps around the base and washing new-found armor.

Their sixth month in was when Meili finally found out the Freedom Fighter's plan. To rid the Earth Kingdom of the Fire Nation.

Meili knew that Jet had his heart in the right place, but the way he went about fixing the problem was all wrong. Why would he fight violence with violence? It would achieve _nothing_.

Of course, Meili never came out and said this to Jet directly. The leader talked about his past multiple times, and anything anyone said to him fell onto deaf ears.

He would recount how he watched Fire Nation soldiers take out both of his parents when he was eight — at dinner, on missions, during casual conversation. In Meili's opinion, he tried to justify his actions too often. She felt sorry for him that he was traumatized at such a young age, but he had to realize that she never _had_ parents. She didn't know how to empathize with him, and she disagreed with his thoughts of causing pain and suffering to random Fire Nation citizens.

Besides Meili's growing suspicion of Jet as time went on, the girl and Jai found themselves growing close with everyone else within the Freedom Fighters. Jai grew especially close with Geun, otherwise known as Pipsqueak. The large, strong boy, although not very bright, was compassionate, and Jai seemed to sneak his way into his big heart. Meili looked up to him as a big brother almost, as he was strong and dependable.

Meili tended to find her way into Longshot's company whenever Pipsqueak and Jai would leave to go explore. Although the boy never talked, Meili found that the boy was very vocal through his eyes and body language. Meili would often talk to him about what angered her to which he would give advice with simple head nods and gestures. The black-haired girl couldn't tell if he was actually listening or just humoring her, but she liked to believe that the two were close and that the quiet boy was fond of her.

The only other girl Meili talked to in the rebel force was Smellerbee, and the smaller female immediately grew fond of Meili. Before she had joined the Freedom Fighters, Smellerbee had lived with her parents who were extremely abusive and violent, so when the Fire Nation seized her lands, she didn't even hesitate in running away. She left the abusive household in hopes of making a new start.

Meili was less cold towards the girl than she was towards the others. Smellerbee found that it was easy to let her guard down around the older girl, and didn't have to act tough like she did around all of the other Freedom Fighter boys. As time went on, Smellerbee finally felt as she had found a female friend.

By the time Meili had turned fifteen, about three years after her and Jai's recruitment, Jet's behavior had taken a turn for the worst. The old Earth Kingdom town she had lived in prior to joining the Freedom Fighters, Gaipan, was still occupied by the Fire Nation, and Jet felt as if they needed to change their tactics.

Their small missions of interrupting village trade and stealing weapons wasn't enough for the leader anymore, and he decided to take more extreme measures. Meili didn't like their small acts of rebellion to begin with, so when the decisions that Jet made began going down south, the girl didn't know how much longer she wanted to stick around.

One cold autumn day, Jet approached Meili and asked for her help. Smellerbee had seen a small Fire Nation camp just outside of their hideout, and a lot of valuable loot was hidden inside of their tents. Meili agreed to help him out, knowing that it was only a looting mission and not a killing one.

The group assigned to the mission was Jet, Pipsqueak, Sneers, Longshot, Jai, Smellerbee, and herself. They had left early in the morning, just as the sun began to creep over the mountains, and situated themselves in the trees above the camp.

They had waited in the treetops for an hour before everyone had grown restless, Jai especially. Jet wouldn't give them the 'okay' to attack unless the right distraction was present. Smellerbee argued by saying they could take the fleet out _without_ a distraction, and Longshot agreed with a nod of his head. Meili even thought it was silly to wait so long. It would've been faster to just get it over with.

But all of the waiting paid off when a boy and girl dressed in dark blue attire and a bald kid with a fluffy lemur perched on his shoulder pushed through some foliage, staring straight into the eyes of the Fire Nation soldiers.

Smellerbee and Jai laughed as the dorky, Water Tribe boy got lit on fire when one of the soldiers shot flames to block the group's escape. The girl next to him extinguished the flames with water, which she bended out of a small canteen.

Jet finally signaled to go as the dorky kid began bluffing, saying how he promised not to hurt the soldiers if they let them go. Smellerbee took initiative with the sudden distraction and threw out a small dagger towards the leader of the soldiers. It impaled him in a pressure point in the back of his neck, instantly knocking him out.

Jet then swung down from the trees, jumping on top of two soldier's backs before hooking his swords around two other's ankles and flipping them over. Longshot took his aim and shot away the weapons four soldiers had, wrapping his legs around the branch of the tree he was on before flipping upside down to take out more.

Jai jumped down from the tree he and his sister were perched on, plopping down on top of one of the soldier's shoulders, making the firebender run around in havoc. Sneers and Smellerbee flipped down as well, fighting some benders as Jet continued stealing attacks from the Water Tribe boy.

Meili flashed down from the trees, flicking a dagger at a soldier that turned to attack her. The firebender that she had attacked was now pinned to a tree, the dagger going through his shirt and into the bark. She took pride in knocking out two more soldiers, using nothing but roundhouse kicks and punches.

Pipsqueak took out the rest of them, swinging around his weapon which was a log of wood.

Jet greeted the three travelers who were astounded at the group's skills as Sneers left to tie up the knocked-out firebenders.

"You just took out an army almost single-handedly!" the bald kid with blue arrows stated, walking over to Jet's side.

"Army?" the Water Tribe boy questioned incredulously. "Pfft, there were only like.. twenty guys!"

Meili resituated her cloak, putting her weapons back in her pouch, "And it _wasn't_ almost single-handed."

Jet ignored his teammate's statement, looking at the Water Tribe girl in the eyes before speaking, "My name is Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters.. Sneers, Longshot, Smellerbee, The Duke, Whiteflash, and Pipsqueak."

The bald kid then went to comment on how Pipsqueak was a funny name, mistaking Jai for the one with that nickname. Geun began chuckling as the kid realized it was _him_ named Pipsqueak, and he smacked the bald kid down to the ground with a hearty laugh.

"My name is Katara," the Water Tribe girl smiled, blushing as Jet looked her into the eyes.

"I'm Aang," the bald kid grinned.

The other Water Tribe member was standing off to the side, brooding to himself as he mumbled things about 'show offs.'

The Freedom Fighters took their time in looting the camp, all of the Fire Nation soldiers now tied up at the edge of the clearing. Smellerbee was off collecting firewood, Sneers was inspecting barrels, and Longshot was cleaning his bow. The Water Tribe boy, who Katara informed the group to be named Sokka, was still pouting to himself, watching the Freedom Fighters with a distasteful glare.

Jai found some blasting jelly inside of a barrel, and Pipsqueak found jelly candy. Meili searched in the tents and found high-quality armor, food, and weapons.

"We should go ahead and take this stuff back to the hideout," Sneers commented, throwing his finds into their wagon.

Aang looked at Jet incredulously, "You guys have a hideout?"

Jet nodded, "Would you like to see?"

"Yes, please!" Katara beamed, clasping her hand together harmoniously.

Meili wanted to warn Jet; she wanted to tell him that nothing good could come from letting these strangers, who looked very out of place, into their camp. Meili wished that Sneers hadn't even said anything in the first place.

But once Jet is set on something, he doesn't relent. So he swung an arm over Katara's shoulder and began his descent through the forest. Since no one else was going to argue, Meili bit her tongue and followed suit.

On the walk back to the hideout, Jet took the initiative in asking the small group why they were there in this forest. Aang answered with the small response of, "I'm the Avatar," which didn't really clear up much. Meili rolled her eyes as she looked over at the Water Tribe boy who was arguing with Jet on the ways of a warrior.

Katara continued admiring Jet from afar, the girl unable to take her eyes off of the mysterious man. He was strong, dependable, and well.. _everything_ she ever dreamed of having in a guy. She was glad her and her brother had found Aang in that iceberg, because she might have just found the man of her dreams.

"We're here," Jet announced, turning to face the rest of the people around him.

"Where is 'here'," Sokka grumbled, "There's nothing around us!"

"Wouldn't be much of a hideout if it was clearly visible, now would it?" Meili stated, grabbing onto the back of Sokka's shirt.

"Woah, hey! What are you doing?" he argued, flailing in the girl's grip. "Let me go!"

The black-haired girl ignored his cries as she took a rope into her unoccupied hand, wrapping it around her wrist while she yawned slightly, "Hold on tight."

With a sudden jolt, the rope leeched forward, tugging the two people into the fiery trees above. Sokka squeezed his eyes shut as the rope continued flying faster. For all he knew, this chick could be taking him into the depths of enemy territory.

"Open your eyes, scaredy cat," he heard the girl's voice call as they landed, and reluctantly, he followed her orders.

The Water Tribe boy glanced suspiciously as the other members of the Freedom Fighters passed him, their hands full of their new-found items. Sokka shook his head as he saw Katara follow Jet like a lost puppy. Leave it to his sister to go and fall for someone suspicious.

"I am _not_ scared," Sokka argued, his voice cracking as he emphasized the word not. "I was just .. closing my eyes from the sun."

"Yes, because look at _all_ of the sunlight protruding from the canopy of leaves above us," Meili replied, gesturing up to the thicket of leaves that blocked the sunlight into the hideout entirely.

Sokka glared at her, ".. Sarcasm is _my_ thing."

Meili rose up an eyebrow, "I'm guessing accident prone your thing, too?"

".. I really hate you."

Meili turned the other way, "Much obliged."

Sokka scrambled up as her figure began walking away, and he hastily turned to follow after her. After all, he had no idea where he was going. They walked in silence for about five minutes before the girl stopped in front of a wooden door positioned inside of a tree.

"This is where you guys will be staying for the time being," Meili said, twisting the door knob so that Sokka could enter inside. "I'll go find your companions, so they can get settled in as well."

"I can do it _myself_ ," Sokka replied hastily, storming past her figure. "We're only going to stay here for tonight, and then we're leaving in the morning."

"Okay, Ponytail."

"It's Sokka!"

* * *

Meili awoke the next morning feeling unusually blissful, taking a deep breath as her eyes opened up to the red wilderness around her. She glanced to her left where Jai's cot was, seeing his figure missing from the wool blankets. She guessed that he had already awoken to go and eat breakfast. Swinging herself around the bed, Meili yawned and followed suit, slipping on her cloak before walking out of her room.

The thing Meili probably liked most about her cloak was its ability to completely conceal her. When she had first gotten it all those years ago, it had dragged along the ground and the forest terrain due to her height. Although she was _still_ not quite that tall, standing at a _staggering_ four foot nine, the cloak now extended to the bottom of her boots.

The white fabric was thick enough to keep her warm, but thin enough to not feel bulky on her body. The greatest advantage was that no one could see underneath of it. Well, unless they were shorter than her. _Then_ they would be able to see into the hood. Luckily, Meili's less-than-impressive-height aided her in that department.

Her scar — her permanent imperfection to always remind her of her past — was what influenced her love for her cloak. She didn't have to deal with the stares when she wore the cloak, and it actually made her look cooler, or .. so Jai told her.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, a blast of yellow and red stopped in front of her, a lemur hopping onto the top of her head.

"Hey, Whiteflash! Look at what The Duke gave me!"

The Avatar pulled out what resembled to be bang snaps, small little fireworks that exploded when they connected with the ground. Meili sweatdropped as the monk became overly amused and began throwing the explosives everywhere.

His excitement was stopped as an angry Sokka stormed past them, almost running over Katara, who had joined them as well.

"We're leaving _now_ ," the older boy growled, his bag already thrown over his shoulder.

"What? Why?" Katara questioned, a look of disappointment enveloping her face.

Sokka scowled, "Your boyfriend, Jet, is a _thug_."

"What? No he's not," Katara defended, crossing her arms. Whether she was saying that he wasn't her boyfriend or that he wasn't a thug, Meili was unsure.

"He's messed up and crazy!" Sokka accused. "He robbed and harmed an innocent old man."

"I don't believe that," Katara stated, not noticing Meili's contemplating gaze.

With the path Jet had begun heading down, she couldn't really say that the story sounded false.. He _had_ gotten a little violent before with soldiers, but never with someone _innocent_. The idea of Jet fabricating up a believable story to aid his case _did_ sound like something he would do, however. So the black-haired girl did the only sensible thing that anyone could do. She went to get the other side of the story.

With the Avatar and his group following behind, the girl led them over to Jet's quarters.

"Sokka, you told them about what happened.. but left out the fact that he was _Fire Nation_?"

Katara scowled, "Yes, he _conveniently_ left that part out."

"Jet, just because someone is Fire Nation doesn't make them a threat," Meili argued, glaring at the boy in the eyes. "What if it was a little Fire Nation _girl_?"

"Whiteflash, that's different. This old man was sent to eliminate me. He had a knife with a hidden compartment for poison."

"I didn't see a knife on him," Sokka stated.

Katara sighed, "Sokka, you probably just didn't see it."

"There was no knife!" he yelled, storming out of the hut.

Meili tuned out Jet's pleas for Katara and Aang to stay, and instead focused her attention to the door Sokka walked out of. If the boy was telling the truth, then that meant Jet had officially gone crazy.

There was no reason for an old man to come into the forest only armed with a dagger randomly filled with poison to assassinate someone. Especially if he didn't even know where Jet _or_ the hideout was. Meili shook her head as she turned to leave from Jet's quarters, leaving the lying man asking Aang and Katara for a favor.

* * *

Jai groaned as he looked outside, the sky painted a dark grey. The other members of his group began filing down the ropes hanging from the trees, so he groggily sat up and crawled over to the right. He shook his sister's shoulders, listening to her groan before she sat up as well.

"It's time to go, Sis," Jai whispered, handing the girl her cloak. Meili nodded at his statement and grabbed the fabric, slipping it on over her slender form before walking out of her room. Jai followed after her, and jumped onto her back as she grabbed onto a rope to take them down.

It was normal for the Freedom Fighters to rendezvous at night so they could plan for raids and such in the morning, so Meili didn't think much of it. She only grew uncomfortable when they approached the edge of a cliff overlooking the town Gaipan.

"Listen," Jet whispered, turning to face his group, "you are not to blow the dam until I give the signal. It's crucial that the reservoir is filled all the way because if it's not, the Fire Nation troops could survive."

"What about the people in the town? Won't they get wiped out, too?" Jai questioned, looking innocently up into Jet's eyes.

"Duke, that's the price of ridding this place of the Fire Nation."

"There shouldn't be a _price_ to anything," Meili argued, slipping herself in-between Jai and Jet. "Killing innocent people was _not_ a part of the plan we had. You are not making my brother have blood on his hands; not if I have any say in it."

"Whiteflash, look," Jet sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's better this way. The Fire Nation will be gone from this valley, and these people won't have to suffer anymore. We're just doing them a favor."

"Their choice to live is _not_ your decision to make, and you are stupid if you think Jai and I are going to take part in this."

Jai nodded, "Yeah, what about all of the other kids.. like the ones in the orphanage? And all of the mothers and fathers? It's not right!"

"Guys—"

She smacked Jet's hand off of her shoulder, "There is no arguing, Jet. My choice is final."

The leader of the Freedom Fighters sighed heavily as he retracted his hand, crossing his arms in front of him angrily.

"I was hoping that you'd have an open mind, but I can see that you've made your choice," Jet scowled, "Smellerbee, Pipsqueak, lead her and The Duke away, and take care of our spy while you're at it."

The other female of the group walked over to the bushes where Sokka was situated, yanking him up by his ponytail. He struggled as Smellerbee brought him in front of Jet, throwing him to the ground.

"You lied to Aang and Katara," the Water Tribe boy grimaced, "You're a liar and there's nothing you won't do to get what you want."

Jet laughed, a maniacal laugh that Meili had never heard before, "I _always_ get what I want."

Then he sent the three away, Pipsqueak and Smellerbee accompanying them as guards.

Pipsqueak took ahold of Sokka's arm, yanking him into the nearby foliage to take him 'on a walk' as Jet had put it. Smellerbee went to do the same to Meili, only to have Jai kick her.

" _Don't_ touch my sister," he growled, losing all of his usual happy tone. Smellerbee immediately backed down, instead choosing to walk behind their prisoners.

"How can you stand there knowing that Jet's about to wipe out a whole town?" Sokka questioned five minutes into their walk, scowling at his guards.

"Listen, Sokka, Jet's a good leader," Pipsqueak argued, "We follow what he says and things always turn out okay in the end."

"They turn out okay for who?" Meili question, stopping in her tracks. "Who is it helping? Me? You? What Jet's doing is no better than what the Fire Nation does to people every day."

Jai nodded, "I lost my mom.. why should I take away someone else's?"

Smellerbee looked down at her hands, glancing at the various scars littering her pale skin.

She, Jet, and Longshot had gone out on a mission about a year ago, and they came into contact with a Fire Nation civilian. He said that he was going to retrieve medicine for his sick wife who was bedridden, but Jet had convinced Smellerbee that he was bluffing in an excuse to kill him. She believed Jet without a second thought, but didn't know what to think of the matter when he left her to finish the business. For six weeks she couldn't sleep, the pain and terror of the man's face as she took his life — she would never forget.

"Whiteflash's … right," Smellerbee nodded, turning to the older girl beside her, "Most of these people are innocent, and killing them just to get rid of a few Fire Nation soldiers isn't worth it. You guys go; Pipsqueak and I will go try to stop Longshot."

Meili nodded her head, "I knew you'd understand."

Smellerbee smiled sadly at the mother-figure she had always wanted before enveloping Meili in a tight hug. The embrace came as a surprise to the fifteen-year-old, who had never seen Smellerbee show this kind of affection towards someone before.

Geun removed the bindings from Sokka as the two girls hugged. The Water Tribe boy rubbed his wrists as he walked over to Meili, who had just left the embrace with Smellerbee, and he watched his guards sprint back over towards the direction of the Freedom Fighters.

Once they disappeared behind the trees, Meili turned toward her brother and informed Jai of her plan. He was to go find Katara and Aang, tell them of Jet's goal in hopes that they could get the cliff to help in time, and stop him. She and Sokka would immediately go to stop Jet.

"I have a better idea," Sokka argued. "Let's go to the town and evacuate everyone. That way if Pipsqueak and Smellerbee can't find a way to convince Longshot, everyone will still be safe."

Meili nodded, kissing Jai on his cheek before he ran off.

Sokka and Meili made eye contact once everyone was gone, nodding their heads.

It was time.

"Follow me, Ponytail," Meili said.

The black-haired girl led the way there, having made many scouting and raid trips into the town. It took about thirty minutes of running and jogging for them to arrive, Sokka somehow keeping up with Meili's athletic build — although he did complain quite frequently.

By the time they had made it into the center of the town, a huge crowd of people began to surround them, and the Fire Nation soldiers began yelling at the two.

"Listen to me. You guys need to get out of here!" Sokka yelled, stretching out a hand. "Someone is about to blow up the nearby dam—you'll all be washed away!"

"You are a spy, we know it!" one of the Fire Nation soldiers yelled, grabbing Sokka roughly by the shoulders. Another one walked up behind Meili, grabbing her by her arms as well

"Please, you have to listen to us!" Meili pleaded, attempting to struggle out of his grip. "You have to evacuate, please. Save yourselves!"

"Listen to them," a gruff voice interrupted, making everyone turn to an old man in the crowd. "Trust these kids.. one of them saved my life."

Seemingly moved by the elder man's words, everyone in the town began evacuating, much to Sokka and Meili's happiness.

* * *

"What do you mean Jet's going to blow up the dam?" Katara questioned, stopping her bending to look into Jai's eyes. The boy shook his head, relaying them the information one more time.

Aang paused his bending as well, pulling out his glider once Jai had finished talking, "If Jet is going to harm innocent people, then we have to stop him! Katara grab my hand!"

The brunette nodded, slipping her fingers into the monk's grip before being lurched away. Jai smiled as he watched the two fly away in the direction of Jet, knowing that the Avatar was going to be able to stop him.

* * *

"Would you like some help, Ponytail?"

"No, I got it—and it's Sokka!"

".. are you positive you don't need help?"

"I said I got it!"

".. but you're not even close to reaching it. And we're kind of on a time frame."

Sokka growled as he fell to the ground, clumps of white, fluffy hair wisping around him, "I said I had it!"

"You fell."

"..I hate you."

Meili yawned, "So you've told me."

The black-haired girl walked over to the fluffy beast that Sokka was attempting to climb upon, easily gripping onto the tuffs of fur to lift herself up. Once Meili was comfortable on the white sky-bison, she looked smugly down at Sokka, "Well, are you coming?"

"Stupid, bossy girl.. of course _she_ could get up," Sokka mumbled to himself, low enough so that the girl couldn't hear. "I can get up by myself! Who does she think she is?"

"Can you quit mumbling and grab my hand?" Meili stated, holding a hand down towards the boy. "Again: you do know we're on a time schedule."

Sokka rolled his eyes defiantly as he stared up at the hand before clasping it in his own. Within seconds, the Water Tribe boy was perched upon Appa, sitting contently on his back. From within the fiery trees, the fluffy lemur that Meili had become acquainted with flew over to her, landing on her head as he usually did.

"Okay, now hurry up and fly this thing," Meili stated, glancing up as Momo snuggled down into her hood. "We still have to go back to stop Jet."

Sokka growled slightly as he scrambled up to the front of the bison, muttering insults about the cloaked girl before wrapping Appa's reins around his wrists, "Yip yip."

Appa let out a small grumble before flicking his tail, immediately bending some air to get him up above the trees. The sudden lurch startled Meili, and she gripped onto the side of the saddle to make sure she didn't fall off.

After ensuring that everyone had gotten out of the town, the two teens made their way back to the hideout, collecting up their things before rushing to Appa. They still had to make their way over to Jet, who was hopefully being preoccupied by Katara and Aang. Sokka flew the giant beast over the reservoir of water, which was still intact. It looked as if the dam hadn't been blown yet, and hopefully it would stay that way.

A sudden flash and an explosion made Appa swerve, and the sky-bison just barely missed being singed by the gush of flames. The water held back by the dam was now free, and it surged through the forest and towards the town of Gaipan.

"It looks like Smellerbee and Pipsqueak couldn't convince him," Sokka concluded.

Meili nodded, "It was a smart move heading towards the town first, good call."

Sokka smiled smugly as he turned Appa's reins, approaching the side of the cliff at high speeds. He was glad to have saved that town and get complimented while doing it. The Water Tribe boy quickly turned left, holding on tightly to the reins as Appa approached the cliff.

"—this forest is safe."

"Yeah, without you," Sokka interrupted Jet, stopping Appa on the small clearing.

"Sokka!" Katara greeted, running over to the giant, sky-bison. Momo flew off of Meili's head and onto Aang's shoulder, making little clicking noises as the airbender smiled in glee.

"We told the town what you were planning," Meili spoke up, jumping down from Appa. "We managed to get them out just in time."

"You idiots!" Jet screamed, thrashing a hand out. "We were going to rid this valley of the Fire Nation, and now — I can't believe it!"

"—Jet!" a voice interrupted, making everyone's head turn to the side. Pushing some foliage aside, Smellerbee, Pipsqueak, Jai, and Longshot all came into view. The one who had spoken was Smellerbee, and the girl moved to place herself in front of Jet.

"Let it _go_."

Jet stared at his partner, dumbfounded at her statement, "There is no letting it _go_! This forest was going to be safe!"

"Causing more pain and suffering wouldn't be making anyone safe!" Smellerbee fired back, crossing her arms defiantly. "It's done and over with. Let us start over."

"Start over.. wha—What? Do you hear yourself? Does _anyone_ here _hear_ themselves? You just saved the Fire Nation!" Jet yelled out, scowling in anger.

Meili yawned softly as she cracked her knuckles, walking over to Jet before hitting him in the side of the neck. She stared dully as she watched his body fall limp to the ground.

"No one here knows how long I've wanted to do that."

Jai ran up to his sister with a huge grin, jumping up into her arms while giving her a tight hug.

"I knew you could save all of those people, Sis."

Meili smiled back, wrapping her arms around her small brother to return the hug.

Katara and Aang climbed their way onto the back of Appa, looking down from the saddle at the rest of the Freedom Fighters.

"We're sorry for what happened," Smellerbee apologized, bowing her head down to the Avatar and his team. "And sorry about your glider, Aang."

"I'm just glad the people in the town are safe," Aang smiled back, putting a fist into his hand before bowing as well. He picked up his broken glider and opened it up, inspecting the damage. "Gliders can always be fixed."

"You were the ones who fixed us," Smellerbee smiled sadly. "I thought I would be a traitor if I thought that what Jet was doing was wrong.. but I now see that he became the traitor when he stopped protecting innocent people. When he wakes up we'll show him — we'll all help him change his ways."

Meili sighed, shying away from Smellerbee's confident gaze, "About that— I'm.. I'm leaving the Freedom Fighters."

"You're doing what?!" Jai questioned, grabbing onto the hem of Meili's skirt. "You can't! I mean, these people are our family!"

" _You're_ my family, Jai," Meili smiled from behind her cloak, bending down to her brother's level. "I can't stick around Jet anymore. Not after what just happened.. I need to find myself, but I also need to stay safe." Meili placed a hand on Jai's cheek. "I need to keep _you_ safe."

"Well, if you're leaving, then I'm coming, too!" Jai blustered. "And we can bring Pipsqueak!"

"I don't think we can, Jai. That's his own choice."

Jai looked over towards his giant friend. "But.. what about Pipsqueak, and — and Longshot? Smellerbee?"

The white-cloaked girl looked up from her brother and towards the rest of her team. They all nodded, knowing that it was ultimately her own choice.

"We have to leave," Meili stated, holding her brother's hand in her own.

"If you're looking for a place to go, why not come with us?" Aang suggested, playing with Appa's reigns in his hands.

Katara rose up an eyebrow, "Can we trust her?"

Sokka began to stroke his chin, "My instincts believe her to be a threat."

Aang deadpanned, "Since when have your instincts been right?"

"My instincts are almost _always_ right!" Sokka shouted with a voice crack. "But then again.. I mean .. she _did_ speak out against Jet's plan."

Meili dropped Jai onto the ground while still holding his hand, turning her head up to look at the three that entered their forest only a few days ago.

"I couldn't ask to you guys to do that for me. Besides, the Avatar is going to have a tough journey. You will all be followed and targeted. I can't put Jai in harm's way like that."

Jai looked up to his un-biological sister, "I could stay with Pipsqueak. You can trust Geun to take care of me."

Meili shook her head, "I couldn't.. I mean, I _can't_. I can't leave you behind — not knowing where you'll be.."

Geun grinned and put a big hand on Meili's shoulder, "I'll take good care of him, Whiteflash. We can travel around the Earth Kingdom together!"

Jai hopped onto Pipsqueak's back and grinned heartily, "You don't have to worry about me, Sis. You taught me how to survive, remember? Trust me! We can meet up with you guys at Ba Sing Se! Remember that place? We used to read about it all the time!"

Meili smiled sadly at her brother's excitement. He seemed happy. Content. But she felt a twinge of sadness ping her heart. Jai was the only person she had ever grown to like.

The black-haired girl turned towards Aang and his gang, "You're positive that this is ok, Avatar?"

"We have plenty of room!" Aang exclaimed, eye-smiling with a wide grin. "Plus, we need more people who can fight without bending!"

"Yeah.. my brother could use someone to teach him," Katara said as she tapped her chin.

"What? I was the best warrior in our .. whole _village_ , Katara!"

Katara made an irritated face as if she had heard that before, "Our village is made up of five and six-year-olds."

Sokka grumbled angrily underneath of his breath as he crossed his arms.

"Avatar, I— I don't know if I can.." Meili sighed. "You guys don't know who I am or anything—"

"Come, Whiteflash," Aang interrupted with a smile, stretching out his hand from Appa's saddle toward the girl in front of him. Meili stared into his glistening gray eyes; though they appeared large and full of adventure, they held a look of responsibility and kindness.

Meili held out her own hand, taking the monk's soft ones into her own before being pulled up into the saddle of the giant sky-bison. As Longshot picked up Jet's limp form off of the ground to tie up, the rest of the Freedom Fighters wasted no time in telling Meili goodbye. Jai himself took a long time telling Meili farewell, no doubt a bit sad at the departure of his sister.

"Don't worry, they're going to like you!" he had whispered into his sister's ear. For some reason, she highly doubted that.

After everyone had said their goodbyes and Sokka had, miraculously, climbed up on top of Appa and into the saddle, Aang spoke 'yip yip' before his sky-bison flew away. Meili watched the cliff until Jai and Geun became a mere dots on the ground before turning around to face her new companions.

Aang and Katara apologized for not believing Sokka and his accusations against Jet. After a little explaining on how 'Sokka's instincts' kicked in, the group soon turned their attention to their newest member.

"I'm guessing since you called The Duke by the name of Jai, your name probably isn't Whiteflash," Aang smiled from the front of Appa. It turned out he was usually the designated 'bison-driver.'

"That's a correct assumption," Meili nodded, tugging the hood of her cloak down lower. "Jet gave the names to us."

"I'm gonna say that you're not too fond of that," Katara stated.

Meili shook her head, "Not really, Princess. I only joined them in the first place because Jai wanted to."

Katara's eye brow twitched. "I don't know if I like my nickname either."

"Anything it better than Ponytail!" Sokka exclaimed. "This is a warrior's wolf tail!"

Meili waved them both off nonchalantly.

"How'd you end up with the Freedom Fighters to begin with? Why did you and Jai leave your parents?" Aang questioned.

"Oh," Meili said, playing with the hem of her skirt, "Jai and I aren't actually related. We grew up together in the same orphanage... He was the only one I really talked to— we left together after the orphanage got raided one day, and we've just... we've just been with each other ever since."

"Sorry.." Katara whispered sadly,"—about your parents, I mean. Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation when we were younger.."

"Sorry to hear about that too.."

"So what's your _name_?" Sokka asked dully as he crossed his arms. "I mean, unless you want us to call you Whiteflash or creepy-hood-girl," Sokka said sarcastically, wiggling his fingers at the word creepy.

"Meili," the girl spoke evenly. "You can call me Meili."

And after a small mix-up of directions, Meili and the Avatar's group soon began to resume their path north towards the Northern Water Tribe.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for following and favoriting this story! It really means a lot to me (insert heart emoji here) and also thank you to dragontamer64 for leaving my first review :) I hope everyone has a great day and I'll see y'all on the next update.


	3. Chapter 3

The travel was quiet in the beginning, and Meili found herself reclusive in the farthest corner of the bison's saddle. She was careful to keep her cowl down, making sure that her face was kept concealed. With everyone sitting down on equal levels, one gust of wind could've been the difference between her appearance remaining a mystery or revealing her mar.

Sokka was the main talker she noticed. He was the one that took initiative to fill Meili in on everything that had happened before they discovered the town of Gaipan. She learned that Aang and his pet bison had been trapped in an iceberg for the last hundred years, and the siblings discovered him on the outskirts of the Southern Water Tribe.

After that, they returned to Aang's old home, the Southern Air Temple, where they concluded that the only survivor in the vicinity was a small lemur they named Momo. From there, they traveled north and began their journey into the Earth Kingdom, stopping between small towns where they helped Earth Kingdom villagers in need.

They were in route to the Northern Air Temple, hoping to check on the condition of the shrine before flying to the Northern Water Tribe where Aang was to learn waterbending. Meili assumed it made sense, though she felt as if the group made too many pit stops.

Their next stop was a canyon called the Great Divide, which was the only route the group could take that would prevent a collision with the Fire Nation. Apparently, either side of the divide was occupied by the Fire Nation army. Flying over the canyon was the fastest, safest course to take, so they set their sights on backtracking inland in order to take a safer route towards their next stop: Mt. Makapu.

Meili didn't talk much to her new comrades, and instead set her gaze to look out over the waters and forests that they passed on their way. Thankfully, the other three let her be.

They stopped occasionally for supplies like food and water, though Katara helped save money by bending drinkable water into small containers for them to drink from. Meili helped Sokka hunt animals, though the Water Tribe boy usually yelled at her to stay out of his way.

She wondered how these people could trust each other so easily. They were unreserved with their companionship, so quick to help each other when something was wrong. It made Meili feel uneasy, maybe even a little bit out of place.

It made her miss Jai and his innocent face — someone who was so kind to her in times of need; she wished desperately that she was with him again. But Meili knew that her path led her to the Avatar.

Maybe it was some prank by the spirits … or maybe it was just her inevitable fate. She didn't know what she did to deserve being surrounded by these strangers. Whatever it was, however, Meili did _not_ deserve the absolutely unnecessary and distracting squabbling between the two Water Tribe Siblings.

Meili forgot how much siblings actually fought until she met Sokka and Katara.

Even though Meili and Jai didn't really fight — granted that they weren't _actually_ related —she was still able to see the sibling-rivalry-dynamic that would emerge when siblings lived together in the orphanage. She remembered this one set of twins that would fight all the time. They would argue over their food, over where they slept, over who got to take a shower first, and over who got to play with the toys.

Now, when a one-track-minded, abrasive, immature brother and his equally as abrasive, emotionally-driven, over-reacting sister were cloistered together in a small camp just a few miles away from the largest canyon in the world — well, the sight _wasn't_ pretty.

Meili was off gathering firewood to create the campfire for the night, Sokka was pitching their tent, Aang ran off to go collect food, and Katara was grooming Appa.

Meili returned from the forest with an armful of twigs and branches only to see Sokka fumbling around inside of the tent. Surprisingly, the tent was actually pitched quite nicely, and Meili had to admit the clumsy Water Tribe boy actually did quite a nice job. He emerged from the cloth tent after Meili had put the twigs inside of the fire pit, stretching his limbs as he sighed heavily.

"All done," he said proudly, wiping off some dust onto his blue attire.

"Aren't you forgetting about the tarp?" Katara questioned, turning around from where Appa was lying down to face her bother.

Sokka nodded as he picked up the white tarp. "Oh yeah. How could I forget?" he stated, tossing the sheet inside of the tent.

"What are you doing?" his sister complained. "You're supposed to put the tarp _over_ the tent. You know.. so we don't get _rained_ on?"

" _Normally_ you would be right. But seeing as how it is the _dry season_ , you're not," Sokka stated, bending down to fix one of the pegs securing the tent to the ground. "Besides, that tarp makes for a pretty warm blanket."

"What if it _does_ rain?" Katara questioned.

"And what if it _doesn't_?" Sokka argued back evenly. "Then I would have put it up for nothing."

"Ordinarily, I would say that it's better to be safe than sorry, but I have to agree with Ponytail," Meili spoke quietly, her voice almost mumbling. "It's been pretty cold the past three days, and it's normally colder at night in deserts like these anyway. Besides, this desert doesn't get rain."

"You guys are so infuriating!" Katara said angrily, stomping her foot heatedly as she threw down the brush used on Appa to the ground. "How can you both ignore the proper way to pitch a tent? The instructions were created for a reason, you know!"

Sokka sighed facetiously. "Katara, how about you talk less and worry about brushing Appa more. Because his fur is looking _pretty_ sorry."

Appa opened his mouth to let out an upset rumble as Katara scowled in anger. Meili rubbed a temple from inside of her cloak with an irritated sigh as the two siblings continued arguing; this resulted in a tore down tent and tuffs of Appa fur floating around the camp.

"Okay, guys, I've got the food if you guys have finished the…" Aang trailed off as he entered the camp with a handful of nuts. "What happened to the tent.. and why's Appa's fur flying around everywhere?"

Meili shrugged as Aang's eyes looked to her for answers.

Thankfully, like the mother hen he was, Aang ended up settling the dispute by having the two siblings exchange chores. Meili breathed a sigh of relief as she walked to the center of the camp to start the fire. Of course the spirits had to give her a con when joining the Avatar's team: too much _arguing_.

The next morning, the Water Tribe siblings continued on with their bickering — whether it was over what direction the group should go, where they stopped to eat, or who had to carry the bags. It finally ended once they arrived at the Great Divide, the world's largest canyon.

"There it is, guys," Aang said in amazement. "The Great Divide!"

Katara stared at the large canyon in awe. "Wow.. I could just stare at it forever!"

Meili had to agree. She enjoyed nature, and the beautiful, orange valley took her breath away. The gorges and cliffs were more wonderful than she remembered from her book back at the orphanage. She remembered the book like the back of her hand; It was an old book written about the world's wonders and landmarks. Meili loved looking at the pictures and seeing the beauty of the world outside of her small orphanage walls.

She always wondered _why_ the other kids wanted to read books about the adventures of an earthbending monkey.

According to the book, although many locals theorized that the formation of the beautiful chasm could be explained scientifically with the idea of erosion, many believed that the canyon was formed by earth spirits. These earth spirits, who were angry at local farmers for not offering them a proper sacrifice, in turn took their anger out on the earth.

So with all the beauty of the natural landscape and the fantastic view it gave, Meili was surprised when Sokka merely brushed it off.

"Okay, I've seen enough."

"How can you not be fascinated, Sokka?" Katara questioned, irritated at her brother's insensitive behavior. "This is the largest canyon in the entire _world_!"

"She's right," Meili agreed. "It stretches out for over a thousand miles."

Sokka turned around, "Then I'm sure we'll be able to see it _very_ clearly from the air while we fly away—"

"—Hey!" a sudden man's voice interrupted. Everyone turned to see a man come sprinting toward the canyon with an outstretched hand. His arm hit Sokka and sent him spiraling to the ground. "If you're looking for the canyon guide, I was here first!"

"A canyon guide?" Katara questioned in surprise. "Hm.. Sounds informative."

"Believe me, he's more than a tour guide, he's an _earthbender_ ," the man stated proudly, oblivious to the fact that Sokka was mocking him from behind. "And the only way in _and_ out of the canyon is with his help, and he's taking _my tribe_ across _next_."

Sokka scoffed, throwing his bag into Appa's saddle, "Calm down, we know you're next."

The irate man scowled, "You wouldn't be so calm if the Fire Nation destroyed _your_ home and forced _you_ to flee! My whole tribe has to walk _thousands_ of miles to the capital city of Ba Sing Se just to be safe."

Meili rose up an eyebrow thoughtfully, "So you're a refugee?"

"Obviously, you creepy girl!" the man shouted back. "Tell me something I _don't_ know."

Not even a minute later, a group of dirty and primitive looking tribe members came toward the clearing, dressed in garments made from animal skins. They had a certain outdoor feel to them, and if Meili didn't know any better, she would've guessed that they were hunters of some sort.

"Is that your tribe?" Aang questioned, peering his head out from behind Katara.

"That most certainly is not! That's the.." a pause as the man grimaced, " _Zhang_ tribe. They've been the enemies of my tribe for a hundred years now… they're a bunch of low-life _thieves_."

The enraged man whistled to the approaching tribe, scowling as he stood up proudly. "Hey, Zhangs! I'm saving a spot for my tribe, so don't even _think_ about stealing it!"

The Zhang leader scoffed, letting out a low chuckle as she glanced around the canyon entrance. "Where are the rest of the Gan Jin? Still tidying up their camp?"

"Yes!" the man said. "But they sent _me_ ahead to hold _our_ spot!"

The Zhang leader chuckled again. "I didn't know that the tour guide took reservations."

Meili rubbed her temple again as she listened to more arguing. Yet again.

Thankfully, the tour guide, a man named Guozhi, came busting through a wall of rocks to where everyone was standing. He asked who was next in line, which resulted in another argument between the man and the rugged tribe. Moments later, a group of clean, white-robed refugees came gracefully walking into the clearing. Apparently, _they_ were the Gan Jin.

Aang ended up giving away Appa to the sick and elderly of the two tribes and flew them across, much to Meili's disappointment. Unfortunately for her, she was now stuck crossing the canyon with two sets of arguing people.

Meili wasn't inherently selfish, but all her life, she only focused on what was in her best interest. So when it came to choose between flying her group over the canyon versus random tribes she didn't even know, she would choose herself in a heartbeat. Maybe her moral code was nonexistent, or perhaps she was just unempathetic, but whatever it was, she could only think one thing: the Avatar was _way_ too kind.

Now she was trapped in a hot canyon, with people she didn't like, and nowhere to go.

After a brief conversation about how eating food in the canyon was forbidden, the two tribes, Meili, Aang, Sokka, Katara, and the tour guide finally began their way down the Great Divide.

Instead of focusing on her anger, Meili focused on the landscape of the great canyon. Although the terrain was rocky and uneven, the weathered cliffs and walls of rock were a fascinating sight. Meili mostly tuned out the arguing people around her in favor of looking at the scenery.

To think that the spirits had crafted the cliffs and valleys… She wondered how the spirits could've made something so beautiful.

Meili walked in silence behind the group, her gaze focused on where Aang, Katara, and Sokka were leading the way, trailing behind the tour guide. She wondered how Jai was handling things, how he was experiencing the mobility and freedom of being a traveler. Meili hoped there had been no storms — Jai was deathly afraid of lightening. With each step forward down the rocky terrain she took, Meili couldn't help but feel lonely.

The Avatar had the siblings, the siblings had each other, and she had no one — except for the lemur that liked to sit on her head. Leaving the Freedom Fighters and deciding to travel with her group might have been the worst decision she had ever made. Why hadn't she just left to travel with Geun and Jai?

Her mind and consciousness felt heavy with regret, perhaps even anger, as she continued scaling down the path. Maybe she made a mistake choosing to accompany these three kids… Maybe this wasn't supposed to be her fate at _all_.

It took about thirty minutes to scale down the canyon pathways with the Canyon Guide destroying the paths that he had created afterwards. He said it prevented the Fire Nation in the neighboring valleys from following.

Momo, who had made himself comfortable on the top of Meili's cowl as he usually did, screeched in alarm as an arachnoid creature suddenly walked out from the dust of the destruction and grabbed the Canyon guide. Quickly everyone went into action.

Aang whipped out his glider and sent out a force of air towards the huge creature. Sokka threw out his boomerang while Katara water-whipped the arachnoid. A foot of the creature slammed Katara to the side, and Meili ran out to flick a few daggers toward the beast. It was then sucked up in a funnel of air, courtesy of Aang, before it scurried back off into the depths on the canyon.

Katara moved toward the man, immediately cradling his body lying stiff on the rocky ground below. His arm was a bright lilac, bruised for the harsh collision of the creature. He winced in pain as the Water Tribe girl touched him gently, and the girl shook her head.

"Your arms are broken," Katara stated, turning her head to look up at the Avatar.

".. What _was_ that?" Aang questioned.

Guozhi winced as he sat himself up with his only working appendage, "It was a canyon crawler… the only thing in these parts that can actually cause damage. And it seems like they did because now my arms are broken."

"Well, if your arms are broken…" Katara trailed off.

"We're trapped in this canyon," Aang finished slowly, a look of realization overtaking his childish expression.

"Can't you use your feet to do your fancy rock moving instead," Sokka said grumpily. "Like seriously, aren't you supposed to be able to bend with every part of your body?"

Guozhi shook his head. "I'm afraid with my old age, I'm not longer able to do that anymore."

The air seemed to grow colder.

"Well, hey, we're not actually trapped down here," Meili stated in a monotone voice. "We just have to find a new way out."

"So the mystery girl talks," the Zhang leader stated with her hands on her waist. "Newsflash honey, these pampered Gan Jins can't go a day without food. They're the reason that we're trapped down here."

The Gan Jin leader looked offended, "If anyone can't go a day without food, it's you barbaric Zhangs!"

"Enough!" Aang shouted angrily, blasting a force of wind between the two tribes. "I thought I could help you guys get along, but I guess that's not gonna happen!" The airbending monk jumped onto a nearby rock which split the canyon into two paths. "We should split up, Gan Jins on the left and Zhangs on the right. We'll travel in two separate lines."

The two leaders nodded at each other before turning to their respective sides and began to walk. Aang jumped back down to his friends, facing toward Sokka and Katara. "Sokka, you go with the Zhangs and Katara, you go with the Gan Jins. See if you can find out why they hate each other so much.. Meili, stay with me; we'll watch over them."

As the two Water Tribe siblings split up to follow after their assigned tribe, Aang grabbed ahold of Meili's hand and airbended them back on top of the rock to follow down the mutual middle.

After carefully bringing Guozhi up behind them, Meili made it her goal to walk on her own.

She took the time to look around at the canyon before settling her gaze upon the setting sun. It burned brightly behind the scarlet clouds, the golden red hues overtaking the pale blue sky. She took in a deep breath, feeling the last few moments of desert heat, before letting out a small breath.

They walked for a little while longer until Aang decided to call it a night. He called over Katara and Sokka to the edge of the tall cliff, asking them to figure out the Gan Jin's and Zhang's stories. Because as Monk Gyatso always told him, when two people were feuding, the truth always lied somewhere in the middle.

Meili yawned softly that night as she stretched out her limbs, sitting herself down on a rather comfy rock. Aang was leaning against one of the rocks on the cliffside overlooking the Gan Jin and Zhang camps. Momo was lying on Meili's lap and was purring slightly to her touch.

"Sure would be nice to be sitting around one of those campfires," Aang spoke quietly. "Telling stories and laughing… warm and cozy…"

The young monk received no acknowledgement as he continued staring out at the camps below him. He sat like that for a minute later, feeling the crisp wind blow against his skin. His gaze was fidgeting between the two groups and Meili, making sure he didn't keep his gaze on the girl for too long. He could sense that she was uncomfortable or maybe just standoffish. But she had been keeping her distance from them ever since she joined.

"You don't have to wear your cloak anymore you know," Aang interrupted the silence, turning around from his observing to look at Meili.

".. I suppose," Meili said after a small pause, answering the monk for the first time that night. "I've just had it for so long. It would be weird to not wear it."

" _Or_ you don't want us to see your scar," Aang said pointedly, earning a surprised glance from Meili.

"How did you.."

"I can see your face from under the hood," Aang replied openly. "I'm guessing it's because I'm shorter than you."

There was silence, a silence Aang thought was almost suffocating. He seemed to notice that about Meili's presence; she always seemed to draw the air away. It was a spiritual sense as opposed to physical, like her essence was missing something and tried to pull it from Aang.

He realized it on other nights, when the sun was gone and the moon was out, he always felt a pull of his energy toward her. He attributed it to his recent encounter with Avatar Roku during the Winter Solstice, but he couldn't explain the weird feeling of breathlessness when around her.

Aang stared at her from underneath of her cowl, and at his angle, he could only see the pursed line of her lips. Aang knew she didn't speak much, careful to keep herself concealed and hidden — he came to the realization that her aloofness was a facade.

Meili continued petting the lemur in her lap as she impatiently let out a breath. ".. Well?"

Aang blinked both eyes. ".. Well, what?"

Meili chuckled sarcastically, "Aren't you going to ask how I got it, Avatar? You know.. pry into my past?"

"I don't need to," Aang said, looking down into his lap. "You wouldn't hide it unless you didn't like it."

Meili let out a small noise. Aang couldn't tell if it was a snort of indolence or irritation.

So the monk turned back out to look at the camps, his eyes focusing on the pitched tents and burning fires. "They wouldn't care you know."

".. What?" Meili questioned.

"Katara and Sokka," Aang clarified. "They wouldn't care if you had it or not."

"It's not about vanity, Avatar. I don't care what they think," Meili spoke, turning her head to look over at the camps, her voice hard as stone. She glanced up at the sky full of stars before speaking again. "It's a reminder of my past."

Red. Fire. Blood. Screams.

Aang didn't speak for a moment. ".. Did I ever tell you about the guy who's chasing us?"

A pause.

"Ponytail said something about a cranky Fire Nation prince," Meili said. "I guessed that was all I needed to know."

Aang nodded. "His name is Zuko.. and Sokka is right — he _is_ a cranky Fire Nation prince. But, he has a scar. Just like you. I actually didn't notice it until he was yelling in my face when he had captured me."

"If that's supposed to make me feel better, it doesn't. If anything, that makes me hate it even more… knowing that I remind you of someone who wants to capture you."

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" Aang defended. "I was trying to tell you that it doesn't look bad."

Meili seemed to let out a breath of frustration before turning her head toward Aang. "Avatar, can you think back to a time where you felt like your world was failing apart?"

Aang paused, not expecting her sudden question. However, a scene from the Southern Air Temple played in his mind — it was the day he was told that he was leaving Monk Gyatso. It was at that moment that he felt his world was crashing down, and it was ultimately the factor that made him leave the temple.

"Yes, I do."

"Well, imagine that moment, a moment so painful that you just want to erase it from your mind forever…"

Meili paused her hand on the curve of Momo's back, and the lemur's ears perked up.

"Imagine looking at yourself every day and having to relive that moment over and over again —every time you see your reflection."

Aang closed his eyes and envisioned it. What if his tattoos constantly reminded him of Monk Gyatso's corpse laying decayed in the piles of snow outside of the air temple — the old monk's bones cracked and broken, his necklace laying limp against his exposed ribcage. He finally understood the girl's pain and reason behind her cloak. She didn't hate the scar, she hated the memory behind it.

Meili stood up calmly, knocking the sleeping lemur on her lap to the ground. She walked purposefully over to Aang's sitting form and pulled down her hood, causing her black locks to spill out of the cowl and onto her shoulders. The monk was surprised at her sudden reveal.

Etched in a faded pink, a puckered line trailed down the left side of Meili's face, running straight through her eye. Aang stared at the scar, which seemed to pop out against the female's pale skin, in awe.

Unlike Zuko's rough, scaly-looking scar, Meili's looked delicate. Frighteningly beautiful. It reminded the young airbender of the intricate arrows that painted his body. Like the scar was a tattoo engraved into her skin.

"Imagine being reminded every day that you are a monster."

Aang stared into her eyes. Her seafoam-colored orbs revealed so much vulnerability and fragility, but it was all hidden behind her stony expression. She was letting him know this information so that he would leave her alone, not because she wanted to confide in him.

"Scars are stories — marks of history engraved onto our bodies, each with a memory of their own," a voice interrupted, making the two kids turn around in their spot. It was Guozhi, hobbling over to them. He paused as he sat beside the two kids. "We all have our scars; some may be physical, others may be emotional, but they all tell a story of what we were able to overcome."

"It doesn't matter now," Meili replied angrily, pulling her hood back over her head, tucking her hair back inside. "You can't change the past."

"But you can use your past to better your future," Aang commented. "Pushing yourself away from everyone will just make you lonely."

Meili briskly turned away from the two and began walking down the rock path leading to their cliff. "Sometimes, it's better to be alone — that way, you don't hurt anyone."

She ignored Aang's cries for her to stay and Guozhi's continuing words of wisdom as she walked away. They knew _nothing_.

Who were they to tell her that her scar didn't define her? The only thing that her mark had brought her was loneliness and pain. The kids at the orphanage hated her. Parents that came in to adopt hated her. People feared her — thought that she was a _monster_.

Meili shook her head as she made her way down the canyon path. Now was not a time for a pity party. She hated feeling weak.

She was never going to be weak again.

The next morning, Meili was the first one up. The sun was beginning to peak over the orange canyon walls, shining its rays over the gorges and elevations.

She stayed clear of Aang and the Travel Guide as they walked to reunite with the two groups, her gaze calculating and unwavering.

Aang was a nice kid, sometimes _too_ nice. It was because of his niceness that they were in the canyon in the first place. So with Aang being overwhelmingly compassionate, he wasn't going to leave Meili alone unless she proved a point — a point saying to stay away.

Meili had no idea who her parents were, she had no idea what her purpose was in life, and she had no idea what she was even doing. Hopefully showing Aang her face would get him off her back, if only for a little bit.

Because if he thought that they were going to grow close and become friends, he was gravely mistaken.

"All clear! We're almost to the other side!" Guozhi announced, tilting his head up to look at the two tribes walking into view. Meili yawned as she shuffled over to where Aang was standing, stopping beside him as Momo sat on her head.

Aang glanced down at the approaching tribes and motioned to Katara and Sokka, who were both following closely behind their respective tribes. The two Water Tribe siblings slowed down, and they finally stopped next to the monk and cloaked-girl.

"Katara, Sokka, will these people cooperate long enough to get out of the canyon?" Aang questioned, turning to face the siblings with hope in his eyes.

Katara shifted her weight into her left hip. "I don't think so, Aang," Katara sighed, flipping her braid over her shoulder. "The Zhangs really wronged the Gan Jins. They ambushed Jin Wei and _stole_ the sacred orb."

"Sacred orb?" Aang repeated in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, Katara, what _are_ you talking about?" Sokka questioned, crossing his arms irately. "Wei Jin didn't _steal_ the orb, he was returning it to their village gate and was wrongfully punished by the Gan Jin!"

"Okay, woah," Aang spoke, attempting to calm down the two siblings. "Sacred Orb? Stealing? What _are_ the both of you talking about?"

"These two tribes have been feuding for over a hundred years, Aang," Katara stated solemnly. "I don't think they'll ever be able to get along."

"Well, we can figure out how to help them _after_ we get out of this canyon," Meili said evenly, turning around on her spot on the rock. "We can't help them if we're dead."

"That's very true," Sokka said, rubbing his chin.

"We'll go to the base of the canyon," Aang said, opening up his glider as he offered a hand out to Meili.

"No thanks; I'll get down on my own."

The monk shrugged his shoulders before grasping his glider in both hands and flying down.

By the time Meili had made her way down the rock, the Gan Jin and Zhang leaders were both attacking each other. The cloaked-girl guessed that she missed something rather important. Or maybe not at all. She couldn't really tell with these two idiotic leaders.

It wasn't until Aang blew the two apart with a huge gush of wind that Meili actually cared about what was going on. Both tribes had smuggled food! Into the canyon — after they were explicitly told not to. Those dumb people endangered her life without even a second thought!

The black-haired girl walked over to the scene with irritated eyes as Aang yelled at them. Those irritated eyes soon turned into startled ones as a herd of canyon crawlers suddenly came into view. And they were after one thing. The food.

"Everyone, watch me and do what I do!" Aang announced, grabbing a bag of food off the ground. He reached inside the tattered pouch and grabbed out a loaf of bread. With the food in one hand, he distracted a crawler as he leapt on its back. Finally, he grabbed the bag with both hands and threw it over the muzzle of the crawler.

"Seems simple enough," Meili stated, bending down to pick up a bag before jumping into action.

Her seafoam-colored eyes analyzed the situation with ease, and the girl soon found herself on top of a Canyon Crawler and heading out of the canyon. The rest of the refugees followed suit with Aang leading the way. Once all the way up, the Avatar threw down the rest of the food back toward the canyon, and the crawlers followed closely behind.

"I never thought a Gan Jin could get his hands dirty like that," the Zhang leader said surprisingly, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

The Gan Jin leader nodded respectfully, "And I never knew you Zhangs were so reliable in a pinch."

"So.. do you guys think you can make up?" Aang said hopefully.

The Zhang leader looked at the monk incredulously, "Are you kidding? We can't rewrite history! These pampered Gan Jins imprisoned Wei Jin for twenty long years with no proof of him committing any crime."

"No," the Gan Jin leader spoke back. "You thieves _stole_ our sacred orb."

"Will you guys just stop fighting?" Meili groaned, rubbing her temple slowly. "You're both _adults_ — both refugees trying to care for your own and make it to Ba Sing Se. Wouldn't it be easier to put the past behind you and come together as one? That's the most logical thing to do in a case like this. Seriously, where are your guys' heads?"

"I know where the Gan Jin's heads are," the Zhang leader snorted. "Up their ass!"

"Why you— filthy _thief_!" the Gan Jin leader exclaimed.

"Enough!" Aang yelled angrily. "You guys are fighting over something silly. I bet neither of you know the _actual_ story of what happened."

The Zhang leader laughed, "And you think you do?"

"I might not look it, but I'm a hundred and twelve years old. I was there one hundred years ago on the day you're talking about! It started off like this…"

And then Aang went on to explain what really happened that day. Wei Jin and Jin Wei, eight-year-old, twin brothers, were actually playing a mere game. The sacred orb was a ball and Wei Jin accidentally stepped out of bounds with it in his hands. There was no stealing or putting someone in jail. Meili thought it was pretty lucky that Aang was there that day. She bet he didn't know it would come in handy then.

The Zhang leader smiled weakly at the Gan Jin leader, "I suppose it's time we forget the past."

He bowed at the brute woman, "And look to the future."

The Zhang leader bowed back and the two tribes began their descent out of the canyon and toward Ba Sing Se together, with a dazed tour guide hobbling quickly behind. Once the refugees were out of sight, Meili let out a deep sigh and sunk down to the ground.

"Hopefully you two learned something from this," Meili said lowly as she turned to look at the two Water Tribe siblings. "Because if I have to keep listening to you two argue, I actually think I'll throw myself in front of a lion bear and let it maul me."

"Yeah, I have," Katara smiled softly before enveloping her brother in a hug. "I'm sorry, Sokka. You're just so infuriating sometimes.."

Sokka chuckled as he pushed him sister off of him. "Yeah, yeah. But hey, what are brothers for? — Speaking of brothers.. that's some luck that you knew Jin Wei and Wei Jin, Aang."

"You could call it luck," Aang smiled. Then the smile turned into a devilish grin unfitting to the young monk. " _Or_ you could call it _lying_."

Katara opened her eyes up wide, "What?"

Aang shrugged, "I just made the whole thing up."

"You did not!" Sokka stated incredulously.

"Honestly, who cares," Meili stated, climbing on top of Appa's saddle. "No more arguing. I'm pretty happy."

"You're right!" Aang said excitedly as he airbended himself on top of his flying bison. "We can finally go find the wild hog monkeys! We never did get to ride them."

Katara smiled softly as Sokka hit himself in the forehead.

As they loaded up onto Appa and got ready to take off once again, Meili's gaze moved down to the ground below. Her sight was focused on the grand canyon as the bison lurched into the air.

"Alright, guys, Fire Nation soldiers could be anywhere. We'll have to be extra cautious to not make our presence known," Sokka spoke, opening up his map and rolling it out onto the floor of Appa's saddle. "We're flying over this mountain range here before we reach Mt. Makapu."

"But what about the hog monkeys?" Aang questioned.

"We're kind of on a schedule," Sokka said, raising an eyebrow. "We can either take a three day detour to go ride some weird monkeys, or we can spend that time flying north."

"Sokka has a point," Katara said with a frown. "As much as I'd like to ride the monkeys, I just don't think we have time right now."

Aang comically slumped in his spot. " _Alright_."

Meili drowned out her companions' conversation as the canyon began to fade into the white, hazy clouds above. Her mind buzzed with memories of screams — they tore through her thoughts, echoing in her mind like a demonic symphony. Just remembering her past made her scar throb painfully, and her hand unintentionally moved to touch her eye.

She was never going to let herself grow close to anyone ever again. She would make sure of it.


	4. Chapter 4

They continued their path northwest, hoping to avoid confrontation with the Fire Nation at all costs. Meili found that she didn't quite care; ever since her conversation with Aang, the monk had been giving her some well needed space. However, not everyone was as good at reading social cues. In all actuality, Meili thought that Sokka was pretty inept.

"I'm just saying, a boomerang is much more reliable than just some dagger."

"I'm not arguing about this, Ponytail. I'm trying to sleep."

"We're _all_ trying to sleep," Katara emphasized, rolling over in her cot to face her brother.

They had taken a break from their few days of flying in order for Appa to get some proper rest. They were camped out in a forest just outside of a small fishing village, all snuggled in their cots. They decided that the next morning they were heading to the village for provisions.

The conversation had started when Katara had asked Meili where she learned to use her daggers, which the scarred girl replied back simply with, "I taught myself."

This led Sokka to debate, very one-sidedly, about how boomerangs were a better weapon. Usually the Water Tribe boy was like that — stuck in his ways and immature. Meili was glad that Katara was at least _somewhat_ tolerable, but her brother was absolutely infuriating. His constant sexist remarks got him in trouble more often than not, and Meili used everything in her power to stay away from him.

It was something about his abrasive, unrelenting personality that made Meili feel like she was going crazy. Parts of him reminded her of this boy named Tigerpaw back in the Freedom Fighters.

Tigerpaw was a taller boy, lanky and lithe, with a sharp tongue. His hair was dark, neatly trimmed on the sides but swept up into a high bun. He would constantly belittle the female fighters, saying that only men were supposed to do the fighting and women were supposed to do the menial chores of cooking and cleaning.

One time, he made such comments around Meili. After that, there was never a second time.

Unlike Tigerpaw, Sokka wasn't intentionally mean or rough, but that didn't make his remarks any less infuriating.

The Water Tribe boy somehow got the cue to shut up — courtesy of a blast of air from Aang — and went to bed, but Meili laid wide awake in her cot, staring up into the black skies littered with stars.

She was afraid to sleep. Ever since she showed Aang her scar, her past had been plaguing her dreams. Sometimes they were the same, sometimes they were different, sometimes they had no correlation with one another. But dreaming about her past meant that she was reliving it. She was _thinking_ about it.

Meili tried focusing on the even breathing of Katara beside her, counting the girl's breaths coming out in short puffs beside her. And within a few minutes, Meili felt herself drifting off into sleep.

The town was how she remembered it.

It had its long, dirt pathways full of busy people, and it was warm and sunny as most days usually were. For some reason, though, Meili was sitting outside of the orphanage, adorned in white creamy bandages that wrapped around various parts of her body. She could see cuts, lesions, and blood adorning her arms, littering her pale skin from head to toe.

Meili looked at her injured body in confusion; her skin didn't hurt, but she knew something was wrong.

She looked up from her analyzing to see Jai, who was usually full of happiness and joy. Instead, tears were pouring from his brown eyes, dropping down to the dirt pathway with a loud boom. He wiped away the tears spilling down his cheek as he looked up at his sister.

"Why would you leave me? Why would you do that? I thought we were family!"

'We are family,' Meili tried to reply back, but she found herself unable to speak.

"Geun is dead, and it's all because of you. You just had to leave the Freedom Fighters!"

'I didn't know that would happen,' Meili attempted to speak, but the words stayed stuck in her throat.

"..If only you had rid this town of the Fire Nation," a voice said in disappointment, and Meili heard someone let out a sigh. "I told you that people from the Fire Nation are cold-blooded killers. If only you had understood, Whiteflash, you could have prevented this.."

Jet stood there tall and proud right in front of her, with thousands of dead Fire Nation soldiers and innocent villagers behind him. He wore a maniacal grin as he lifted up his hooked swords, both of which were covered in blood. The same blood Jet wore on his face.

"Now I just have to deal with you just like how I dealt with them.." he sighed, raising up his sword to her stomach. "…Traitor."

And then her vision was filled with white.

"I'm .. I'm not a traitor!" Meili spoke back, wincing from the pain in her abdomen. "It's not my fault I'm like this!"

"The Fire Nation knows no wrong. To them, this is all okay. Normal. Killing innocent lives doesn't faze them, don't you get that?"

"I do!" Meili shouted in anger. "But you're no different. What you wanted to do to that town — that was terrible, Jet!"

"Jet?" the man questioned, laughing maniacally before his face began remolding itself. "Who's Jet?"

Meili looked at the faceless man in shock. Had her eyes deceived her? Was this man really not Jet? She turned back at her brother in alarm, only to see a new man in his place. A Fire Nation soldier with a wicked grin on his face.

"You weren't there to protect Geun were you?" he laughed deeply, leaning onto his sword. "It's too bad that your sweet little brother went with him, isn't it?"

"Jai is not dead," Meili said bitterly. "I taught him how to protect himself. And Pipsqueak is a skilled fighter."

The faceless man walked over to Meili, grabbing her by the wrist before lifting her up off of the ground. The Fire Nation soldier followed the two along as the faceless man led Meili through the barren town. The cloaked-girl wondered where all of the dead Fire Nation soldiers had gone. And where was she being led to?

One step out of the town teleported Meili to the top of a cliff. The cliff where Jet had wanted to flood Gaipan. Said town was submerged and drowning underneath of the water. Meili could hear the screams and cries of those in the town. But this was all wrong. Sokka and she had saved those citizens. And the town was completely empty before they came up there.

"I can't believe you would do something like this," a voice whispered, and Meili turned her head to stare at the faceless man.

The Fire Nation soldier was gone, and the man with a morphing face was the only one on top of the cliff with her. Meili stared in disbelief as the man began melding into a different person once again. And after a few moments, she was gazing into the sapphire eyes of Sokka. "I never did trust you."

Meili was stunned by the sudden statement.

"We all know what you really are," Sokka muttered angrily, staring at the flooded town of Gaipan. "You try to hide it underneath of that cloak of yours.. but we can all see."

"I don't know what you're talking about.." Meili trailed off.

Katara suddenly stepped out next to her brother, "You know perfectly well what we're talking about. Why didn't you tell us at this clearing? Why didn't you ever let us know? .. Did you think we weren't going to find out?"

"Yeah," a voice suddenly added. Meili turned in her spot to see Aang. "Why can't you trust us? Why can't you trust anyone?"

"I.. I.." Meili mumbled, feeling cornered. "I don't have to explain myself. Not to you guys.. not to anyone."

"That's exactly what someone like you would say," Sokka scowled. "A liar like you doesn't deserve to be friends with people like us."

"Why couldn't you just trust us?" Aang questioned.

Katara frowned, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Liar."

"Why can't you just trust us."

".. tell us .."

Meili woke with a start, jolting up in her spot. Her breathing was off kilter, a result from the intensity of her dream that she had trouble separating from reality. She knew that it wasn't real, but the emotions she felt — the fear, pain, sadness — it was all too overwhelmingly _real_.

Meili quietly got up from her spot, feeling goosebumps cover her skin once she left the warm embrace of the blanket. She made her way to the edge of the forest, toward the outskirts where the land met the sea. The forest ground was elevated, making it a small cliff overlooking the body of water. The moonlight shimmered on the water top, wavering with each push and pull of the tides.

She covered her arms around herself, hoping to add warmth to her chilled skin.

Meili felt lost.

When she was at the orphanage, she knew what she was — an outcast. When she was a part of the Freedom Fighters, she was Whiteflash. But now… she was Meili. The scarred girl who hid behind a cloak, unsure of who she even was. How was she supposed to act around these new people?

It was so easy when it was just Jai. With him, she was perfect just the way she was. Her past meant nothing to him. He didn't care about who she was or what she had done. They had each other, and they understood one another.

But these people didn't know her, and she didn't want them to. Better yet, she was scared to. Meili knew from experience that having friends never ended well. It only ended in fighting, grief, and regret.

The Avatar didn't understand that her scar was more than just an ugly mark, it was a symbol of her pain. She had no family, no friends, no place in this world. She could care less about her looks; such things were trivial anyways. But she knew that every time someone saw the scar, their faces would contort into shock and disgust. The two very faces Meili grew to hate.

She sighed heavily as she turned away from the blue water, making her way back to camp. Peeling back the covers of her cot, the girl climbed inside, wrapping her cloak around her tightly. Her cloak was her security blanket. It was the first thing that she got on her own after the orphanage. It was her first establishment of secrecy.

Since she couldn't change the past, all she could do now was hide it. And that was her last thought before darkness overtook her vision into a dreamless sleep.

When they awoke in the morning, they packed up their stuff and began walking for about half an hour. Usually, Sokka was leading the way, map poised in his hands like they were connected with glue. Seriously… what was it with men and maps? But instead, Aang and Katara stopped the gang at a stream of water. Apparently they were going to practice some waterbending before they all entered the village.

Sokka had decided to yawn and sit down on a rock — right next to Meili. She fought the urge to clench her jaw, but found it rather difficult with his presence so close.

"You know, even though you're kind of rude sometimes, I'm glad to have another nonbender around," Sokka spoke lazily, buffing his boomerang on his blue shirt. "They're always splashing their magical water everywhere."

"I think it's slightly beautiful," Meili said lowly, keeping her voice steady.

"Psh, that's not beautiful. Its messy!"

Meili tsked underneath of her breath, her gaze lingering on Katara and Aang, who were practicing freezing the water wadding at their hips. She watched as the liquid crystalized almost instantly, turning from a murky blue to a milky white. Then, they made frozen spikes rise up from out of the river.

"Stop trying to look underneath of my cloak."

Sokka fell in his spot from where he was craning his neck. He landed harshly on his head with his legs comically in the air. The boy immediately got up and rubbed his head, hoping to soothe the pain bubbling in the lower region of his neck.

"I was just curious."

"Curiosity is wondering why a pigeon dog is digging at the ground. Curiosity is wanting to know why the sky is blue. Trying to peer underneath of someone's cowl is not being curious — it's being nosey."

"You must be fun at parties…" Sokka whispered with a scowl, unappreciative of the attitude he was getting from the girl. "You could at least try to be more sociable, you know. Not everyone wants to hang out around a cranky girl all the time."

"Who told you to hang out with me?" she countered, moving forward once she saw Aang and Katara begin to climb out of the water.

Sokka watched her retreating figure with a dull face, watching the white cloak bounce with each step. "I really don't like you."

"Sounds like a personal problem."

Once Aang and Katara packed up all of the belongings, they continued forward down the dirt path toward the village. The town was small, composed of a few vender stations and a few houses littered around the Earth Kingdom lands. Several docks trailed out into the water, leading to ships and boats anchored at the shore.

Katara immediately made her way to one of the vendors, an older woman with dark gray hair and a nasty grin. The waterbender sifted through the small array of fruit. But from the looks of them, the selection wasn't all that great. Katara decided on grabbing a melon from one of the sections, holding it firmly in her hand.

"There's no point in being here," Meili yawned out smoothly, using her pinky finger to itch her ear nonchalantly.

"We _need_ food," Katara bit out, shaking the melon in her hand some more. "We've been out for a few days now, and I'm tired of eating stuff Sokka brings back for us."

"Hey, those nuts were delicious and _full_ of nutrients!"

"I'm pretty sure they were rocks," Meili deadpanned.

"Tasteless, bland rocks," Katara added on.

"Can you hurry up and buy the melon?" the merchant lady said angrily, waving a fist in the air.

Katara shook the melon again, "I don't know if I like the sound of the swooshing. And there are bruises all over this thing."

"That means it's ripe!" the lady defended. "It's the ripe juices swishing around, making the outside soft and delectable. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Katara sighed, "How much?"

The lady opened up her mouth to answer, but Aang cut in first. "Katara, we don't have any money."

"We don't?" Sokka questioned. "Didn't we just have some two days ago?"

"Don't you remember buying that stupid straw _hat_ two days ago?" Meili questioned the Water Tribe boy.

"Hey! That hat _wasn't_ stupid!"

"We need to figure something out," Aang spoke, handing the melon back to the lady before walking away. "We haven't had a proper meal in days, and Appa can't keep flying us around on an empty stomach."

"We could always get jobs," Katara suggested, following after the monk. "I mean, I'm sure Meili and I could find work somewhere."

"Leave it to the men, Katara," Sokka stated, stretching out a hand. "We'll handle this."

"We will?" Aang repeating, earning a jab from Sokka. "I .. uh, I mean.. erm.. We will!"

"This is hopeless," Meili sighed shaking her head. "What do you think is going to happen? Someone's going to quit their job right now, and their boss is going to conveniently offer you their job for double the pay?"

"—We shouldn't go out there! Please, the fish can wait," a voice stated from behind the kids. "My joints say there's going to be a storm! A bad one."

"Well, it's your joints against my brain," a male voice replied back. The kids turned around in their spot to see two older fishermen arguing by their boat.

The woman fishermen scowled, "Then I hope your brain can find someone else to haul in that fish, 'cause I ain't comin'!"

"Then I'll find a new fish hauler and pay him double what you get!" the man replied before turning towards the kids. "Like that young man right there!"

Meili deadpanned at the scene in front of her. She _really_ shouldn't have said anything.

Sokka nodded his head proudly, "Yeah, I'll go."

"You're hired!" the male fisherman said triumphantly.

Sokka shot a cocky grin towards Meili as she jerked her hood down. He was lucky she didn't wipe that grin off of his face.

They followed Sokka to where the boat was docked. It was a small fishing boat that wouldn't stand a chance against any of the Fire Nation ships stationed along the sea gulf's borders. The man went ahead and paid Sokka ahead of time so that way the other three could buy lunch. The man said he didn't want someone working on an empty stomach. Apparently the fish can tell if a fisherman is good or bad — well-fed or hungry.

"Sokka, maybe this isn't such a good idea. Look at the sky," Aang said worriedly, holding a melon and a few oranges in his hands.

"I said I was going to do this job. I can't back out just because of some bad weather," Sokka replied back, throwing a bag of fishing bait into the boat. He grabbed an orange from the monk and began peeling it open.

"You can if that bad weather will kill you," Katara spoke crossing her arms at her brother. "Seriously, Sokka. Meili and I can go find a job easily. We don't need you to put yourself in danger."

"See, Sokka?" Aang smiled. "And look, the sky is getting darker by the minute!"

"Eh, maybe we should just let him go," Meili said, gripping on tighter to the bag of food in her hand. "He seems very eager to die."

The Water Tribe boy merely shook his head, plopping a piece of orange in his mouth as he took a box of supplies underneath of the ship.

"Those girls and the boy with the tattoos is right," the female fisherman scowled. "You should listen to him!"

"Boy with tattoos?" the male fisherman questioned, turning around to look at Aang. "And those are Airbender tattoos... Heh. Well, I'll be a hog monkey's uncle. You're the Avatar, ain't ya?"

"Took you long enough," Meili said.

"Took me?" the fisherman questioned. "It took _him_ long enough. The Avatar disappeared for a hundred years! He turned his back on the world! — Left all of us to fend for ourselves."

"Aang would never turn his back on anyone! He has done nothing but save people," Katara bit back angrily. "Aang is the bravest person I know. It's not his fault he disappeared, right, Aang?"

The Airbender stared at his friends with a sad face as he slowly began walking away. He gazed at them with a look of shock and guilt on his face, before opening his glider and springing into the air, flying off quickly into the distance.

"That's right, keep flying!" the fisherman yelled, waving a fist as he watched Aang's glider disappear behind the trees.

"You're a horrible old man!" Katara shouted, running over angrily to Appa before climbing on top of him.

Once Meili was safely onto the sky bison, the big creature quickly flew away after a shout of 'yip yip.'

The two females of the group had searched all around for a good twenty minutes before the anticipated storm kicked in, and they still had seen no sign of Aang. The storm became so bad that the two girls had to stop at a small cave just off of the coast of the town to be safe and dry off. It was just their luck that Aang happened to be in there.

"I'm sorry I ran away," he muttered when the two girls entered, wrapping his arms around himself.

Meili grabbed onto Appa's reigns and led the giant bison's inside as Katara walked to Aang to console him. The cave was small, cold, and damp, a dark abyss that got darker the farther Meili traveled inside. Aang was sitting in the darkness, curled up into himself, his gaze pointed downward. He was so different than how he was four days ago in the Great Divide. He looked solemn and weak now, enhanced by the darkness of the gray-toned, raining skies.

"It's okay, Aang," Katara said truthfully, rubbing a hand down the monk's back.

Meili nodded her head as she pet Appa's chin, "She's right. The fisherman was _way_ out of line."

Aang shook his head, "He actually.. wasn't.."

"That can't be true, Aang," Katara said in shock. The young waterbender paused for a moment as she studied Aang's face. ".. It has something to do with your dreams doesn't it?"

Aang nodded his head solemnly. "It's a long story."

"You guys go ahead," Meili stated, turning around in her spot as Katara comforted Aang. Momo flew over and situated himself on her head as she began walking away. "I'll try to get a fire going."

Meili kept her distance as Aang told his story, and she used a pair of nearby rocks to spark up a fire in the middle of them. All three of them had wet clothes that desperately needed to be dried. It would do them no good if they were all sick.

"You ran away."

"And then the Fire Nation attacked our temple. My people needed me, and I wasn't there to help!"

Katara shook her head. "You don't know what would have happened—"

"The _world_ needed me, and I wasn't there to help."

"Aang ..."

"The fisherman was right! I _did_ turn my back on the world!"

"You're being too hard on yourself, Avatar," Meili said, shaking her head. "Stop throwing yourself a pity party and _think_ about it. If you had stayed at your temple, you would have been killed along with the rest of the airbenders."

"You don't know that," Aang said shaking his head.

Katara sighed, placing a hand on Aang's shoulder. "I know that it was meant to be this way. The world needs you now. You give people _hope_."

"I don't know.." Aang said, looking down into his lap.

"Who would've saved my village from the Fire Nation that day?" Katara questioned.

"And who would've helped those feuding tribes?" Meili added. "Or who would've stopped Jet?"

Aang shrugged, "I guess you guys are right.. I just.. I feel like I abandoned my people, you know?"

"You didn't abandon anyone, Avatar. You were scared. People sometimes do things out of fear," Meili spoke quietly, staring hard into the fire. Katara noticed that her jaw tightened. "You did what you thought was right. And you're here now to end this war… to save lives. Think about that."

Aang nodded his head, glancing down to look at the dancing embers of the fire. He thought about Monk Gyatso and his people. Were they playing a game when the Fire Nation attacked? Did they notice he was gone or did nothing change? He was drawn from his thoughts when Katara placed a hand on his shoulder, and his doubts washed away as he stared into her captivating blue eyes.

"—Help! Oh .. Please, you have to help me!" a voice interrupted, and the three kids turned toward the opening of the cave. A shadowy figure contrasted against the stormy sky outside, and a flash of lightning revealed the figure to be the woman fisherman from earlier.

"What's wrong?" Aang questioned, airbending himself up from his spot.

"It's my husband! He should be back by now.. him and your friend! I'm afraid that they're lost at sea!"

"We have to go look for him!" Katara shouted, jumping up from her spot as well. Meili, Aang, and Katara all made their way to Appa and climbed on top of the fuzzy beast. With a short goodbye to the fisherman's wife, the three left in the midst of the storm to look for the fishing boat.

"Hey.. I have a question," Meili spoke up, staring straight into the storm. The cold wind blew pellets of rain at her face, but the orphan didn't seem to mind.

"Now's not the time, Meili!" Katara shouted, holding on tightly to Appa's saddle. However, her grip was beginning to slip.

"It's serious!" Meili shouted over the rain.

Aang turned around, his eyes dancing over to where the girl was sitting, her hood barely staying on to cover her face. He couldn't see her expression. "What is it?"

"Do you guys think that I .." she trailed off, her voice disappearing into the crackle of thunder. "..that I don't deserve to be friends with you?"

"Why in spirits name would you think that?" Katara questioned, holding a hand up to her face to block the rain.

"You guys don't trust me.."

"Who said that?" Aang questioned.

Katara glanced out into the storm, "Even though you were with Jet and he did bad things.. We know you're not like that. You helped Sokka back then. And you're with us now."

"But.."

"There's no time for talking guys!" Aang shouted, suddenly lifting Appa over a huge wave. "Help me look for Sokka! The storm is getting worse and fast!"

After a few more tense moments of silence and desperation, the boat suddenly came into view, dwarfed by the size of a giant, cresting wave.

"There's the boat!" Katara shouted, pointing to her left. Aang yanked the reins to the side and dove towards the boat.

As Appa stayed suspended in the air, Katara and Aang jumped down from the sky bison and quickly got to work. Luckily, Sokka and the fisherman were standing on the front deck. The sail of the boat suddenly came crashing down, and Aang quickly held up his hands and cut it in half with a jet of water.

As Katara and Aang were standing around their friends veering away the crashing waves of water threatening to sink the ship, Meili fumbled around the bottom of Appa's saddle for something that could help.

Luckily, she found a rope, which was probably used as an extra rein for Appa. She quickly threw the rope down towards the boat inhabitants and waited for them to grab on. As everyone began climbing up, Meili scooted herself up towards Appa's head and grabbed ahold of the reins, yelling out 'yip yip' into the depths of the great storm. Once Aang was situated on top of his bison, he quickly flicked the rope up and brought everyone to safety on the saddle.

Unfortunately, a huge wave began forming itself in front of them and was developing quicker than Meili could steer away from. It crashed into them with a devastating loud crack, like a whip smacking against flesh.

The freezing water was the first thing Meili felt. It nipped at the bottom of her toes and stung her ears. Her breath, knocked out of her on impact, failed to return, and so she choked on the water beginning to fill her lungs.

She tried to stay calm and closed her eyes, thinking of the dreams she had been having recently and what they meant. Was Jai safe with Geun? _Did_ she put his life in danger? Could she trust these people that she knew so little about? Could they trust _her_?

A bright, blue light brought the half-conscious girl from her thoughts and back to reality, though she could already feel her consciousness leaving her. Her vision grew dark, her head light from the lack of air, and found her world turning black.

When Meili opened her eyes again, she was back inside the cave with the fisherman's wife. She choked on some water lingering in her throat violently, looking out of the crinkle of her eye to see Aang bending water in front of her.

"You were unconscious longer than any of us," Aang said lowly, flicking the water away from him onto the cave ground below. "I got most of the water out, but be careful breathing for the next few hours."

Meili nodded her head, mumbling out a small thanks. It seemed as if Aang removed the water logging her lungs before Katara had the chance, meaning that her face was kept hidden from the Water Tribe girl. She was thankful that the monk, in that moment, was as kind as he was.

Once up and moving again, Meili realized that she had been knocked unconscious during the storm, but Aang had activated his 'Avatar state' and taken them all to safety. Meili moved from the cave and over to Appa, climbing in the sky bison's saddle as Sokka was given a free fish from the fishermen. Katara and Aang talked in hushed tones on the side. Meili looked gloomily towards the top of her head where she knew Momo would be sitting.

"Do you trust me, buddy?" she questioned the lemur, earning a small chatter back as an answer. Meili sighed heavily, collapsing her chin into the palm of her hand. "You're right.. I need to start trusting myself first.."

She glanced out toward the open sea, which was being shined down upon by new rays of sunlight. The storm was finally over. And the light of hope was beginning to peak through the clouds of despair.


	5. Chapter 5

Following the aftermath of the storm, the group became more aware to the weather conditions that would surround them during their travels. The days were growing colder as the end of winter was nearing, in addition to them traveling northward away from the equator. The group began to bundle up in more layers to combat the freezing temperatures, something Meili was not used to.

Meili's outfit wasn't anything like the Water Tribe siblings, who had blue anoraks and trousers lined with fluffy, white fur. She, instead, had a red tunic lined in dark red. Dark blue, baggy pants stopped just above her calves that were wrapped in gray bandages. Most of the armor she donned, like her metal belt and armguards, came from her time in the Freedom Fighters. The colors, red and blue, were characteristic of her previous group, but her white cloak was the only thing that really made her stand out.

"Meili, you can borrow one of my coats, I really don't mind."

Said girl turned her head away from where Katara was looking at her. "It's not that, Princess. Look, I'll be fine with just my cloak."

"Who cares if you're ugly," Sokka spoke nonchalantly, leaning back against Appa's saddle. "I mean, Momo might not want to sit on your head anymore, but we won't care."

Meili felt her jaw clench. "Watch yourself, Ponytail, or I might just pull down my hood right now and blind you with my _ugliness_."

Sokka coughed lightly. "Don't get mad at me; you're the one that's going to freeze to death."

"Sokka's right, Meili. At least put something on over your cloak," Katara pleaded.

"Like I said, I'm fine," Meili spoke lowly, pulling her cowl down lower. "I'm not even cold at all."

Aang turned around from where he was steering Appa, looking at the three others occupying the saddle. He himself was wearing one of Sokka's old undershirts, a blue long-sleeved shirt lined on the inside with fur. "Guys, we really don't need anyone getting sick. Especially with Zuko after us. Resting too often makes it easier for him to know where we are."

Sokka coughed again. "Well, tell that to creepy-cloak-girl over here."

Aang looked pointedly at Meili.

She grumbled lowly underneath of her breath. "Fine, if you really don't believe me, have Ponytail feel my arm. I swear, I'm fine."

The Water Tribe boy looked over at the girl, his eyes squinting just slightly. What was it with girls and _listening_! He swore, no girl ever wanted to just do what they're told. He could even tell by the way Meili was sitting, with her cloak draped around her like a blanket falling just above her knees, that she wasn't going to put anything else on.

"Yeah, I'm not doing that. I might touch you and contract whatever _ugly_ disease you might have."

"I'll just do it," Katara grumbled, moving to get up from her spot.

"No," Meili replied instantly, and Sokka was slightly irked that her tone had suddenly changed. Her voice was usually hard, unyielding. There was a low octave hidden behind her words that made her words seem absolute. Even when she had been sarcastic before in the past, her voice had never sounded … amused?

"If Ponytail comes over here and decides that I'm cold, then I'll put a jacket on in front of all of you guys." Meili paused for a moment. "But if he confirms that I'm _fine_ , then you guys can never ask me to bundle up again."

"Be prepared to change then," Sokka grinned, suddenly eager to see what she looked like.

His head raked through all of the hilarious possibilities. Did she have a super large nose that she wanted to hide? Or maybe she was covered in warts from chin to forehead. Sokka grinned mischievously and held back his laughter. Maybe she had buck _teeth_.

He scooted to his right where the girl was sitting, and she didn't once move from her spot. It was this confidence she seemed to be excreting that suddenly made his grin falter. He grit his teeth as he looked down at her from his position, slightly annoyed that her hood's shadow fell past her bottom lip.

She moved then, bringing her hand out from underneath of her cloak and extending it out to the boy beside her lazily. Sokka mumbled something underneath of his breath before he moved to touch her wrist, eager to feel the coolness of her skin so that her face would finally be revealed.

Except, one realization made him pause before touching her.

He was looking at her hand.

This was the first time he had ever seen her skin.

Meili was covered from head to toe in what he considered _bandit_ attire, and she constantly had her white cloak falling around her. Sure he had seen her fight before, or hunt with him, or carry items. But he never took the time to realize that her skin was always covered. He may have seen her hands before, but he never registered that he _had_.

Sokka noticed first the paleness of her skin — it was light with yellow undertones that made the veins in her wrist green. Her hand was outstretched to him, palm up, fingers curled slightly. It was a sign that she was relaxed, contrary to her normal stiffness and rigid attitude. She was waiting for him to feel her wrist, but Sokka couldn't help but notice how small her hands were. These were the same hands that held daggers and knives— hands that he had seen _punch_.

Her hands were so small and delicate, it reminded him that she was a _girl_. He figured always hiding her appearance made him forget that she _was_ a girl, especially with her unrelenting sarcasm and sharp tongue.

He remembered what was at stake and immediately propelled his own hand forward, wrapping his fingers around her wrist. There was a surprising heat that immediately met his fingers, one that almost made him pull away. Meili's skin was softer than he expected it to be, and her wrist seemed almost smaller when engulfed by his own tanned hand. There was a stark contrast between him and her: light and dark, hot and cold.

With that, Sokka concluded that Meili was, indeed, fine, and that she wasn't cold at all. But something was making him not want to let go. It was the weird sensation he was feeling in his chest, like his heart dropped into his stomach, that reminded him of when the Kiyoshi Warrior girl named Suki had kissed his cheek.

Immediately, he pulled back with a cough. "Yeah, she's fine."

She retracted her hand slowly, almost haughtily, as her amused tone continued in a low drawl. "Told you guys. It's not wise to question someone who knows how to kill a person thirty six ways."

Sokka felt himself blush slightly, despite her menacing words, as he scooted back over to where he had previously been sitting. He didn't know where that sudden feeling had come from — like seriously, he didn't even know what she looked like! As everyone returned to normal, he painted a picture in his mind of what she maybe _did_ look like. Or really, what he _wanted_ her to look like.

An ugly girl with moles, and warts, and bulging lips covering huge bucked teeth. She was hiding greasy hair and huge ears like an elephant rhino under her cloak. Yeah, that sounded good.

Meili was glad that the situation had been dealt with. She didn't want to have to show herself in front of the siblings; it was bad enough already that Aang had seen her scar. She paused though when she noticed Sokka staring at her hand resting on her lap, the one she had been holding out earlier. She thought his transfixion was strange — even for him.

He was brought out of his staring by a nasty cough that reverberated deep within his chest. He cleared his throat harshly, and lounged back once more in the saddle.

As the day progressed, both Meili and Katara noticed that Sokka's breathing had begun to grow harsher while his face appeared flushed. He ended up moving into his sleeping bag, falling asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, everyone woke up to Sokka coughing violently, shaking the whole saddle with his movements. Katara moved to his side immediately, bending off the sweat beginning to collect on his forehead and neck. Sokka was mumbling incoherently for the remainder of the morning, but began to say statements that had Meili convinced that something was terribly wrong with Sokka.

He was smiling at Meili with all of his teeth, and there was a bright blush on his face from the heat of his growing fever.

"Aang, something's wrong with Sokka."

"I think there's something wrong with _you,_ Mrs. Water Lady."

"Ponytail is delusional."

Aang glanced back from his position on Appa's head to see Sokka snuggled up in his sleeping bag, coughing hoarsely. The water tribe boy then began calling Momo a tree, which made Aang conclude that something _was_ seriously wrong with his friend.

"There should be some ruined buildings not far out from here," Katara stated, glancing nervously at her brother. "Anything would be better than keeping him out here."

Nodding his head, Aang quickly took route towards shelter. They flew over several old buildings that looked like previous earth kingdom palaces. A few minutes later, the group had taken refuge in a building that had probably once been a grand ballroom. Katara took no time in helping her brother out of Appa's saddle and into the bison's warmth while Meili took the liberty to start up a fire.

"You know, I always thought that Momo would drop big pinecones. But they're so small! Maybe he's a messed up tree.."

Meili rolled her eyes, "Ponytail, that's lemur poop."

"Aang, go look for some ginger root," Katara stated. "My Gran-Gran used to make this herbal tea that would cure my colds when I was younger."

The monk nodded his head before kicking open his glider and riding off into the distance.

"Have you seen my earthbending before?" Sokka stated as he turned towards Meili. "I can fling boulders! Watch this!"

He then struck out his arm in a floppy motion as if he had just flung a rock into the air.

"Mhm, that's nice," Meili acknowledged.

"You know what's nice? Appa's sense of humor."

Katara rose up an eyebrow, "Sokka, he can't even talk."

Appa grumbled lowly which made Sokka burst out in a hysteric fit of laughter.

Aang returned a few minutes later.

"I couldn't find any ginger root for the tea. But I _did_ find a map, and it turns out that there's an herbalist institute on top of that mountain. We could probably find a cure for Sokka there."

"We can't travel with Ponytail like this," Meili grumbled, looking over to her right to see the Water Tribe boy, who was playing with her cloak. "He thinks I'm an Earth Kingdom Princess. Do you know how much of an insult that is? I _don't_ wear dresses."

"Relax," Katara smiled slightly. "I'm sure Aang can go out on his own. Besides, we'll be here to take care of Sokka—"

A small cough erupted from Katara's lips.

"Not you too!" Aang whined.

Katara waved a hand of dismissal. "I'm fine! It was just a tiny cough—"

She coughed again, this time with greater force.

"That's how Ponytail sounded yesterday," Meili said stiffly. "And now look at him! He thinks he's protecting me from the Fire Lord."

Sokka jabbed out a fist, "Take that, you flaming-beard-man!"

"Meili's right," Aang spoke. "A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense, too. I'm going to go find some medicine!"

The monk then said his goodbyes and ran off toward the mountain.

Meili turned around to look at the two Water Tribe siblings before groaning slightly. "Well, this should be fun."

The girl sat in between the two with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. She moved her gaze between the boy and girl, her eyes never once settling on just one of them. Where Sokka was flushed with rosy cheeks and shimmering with forming sweat, Katara was shivering in her own sleeping bag, chattering her teeth loudly.

"Do you need me to get you an extra blanket?" Meili questioned softly. Katara nodded her head.

With a sigh, Meili got up and climbed up Appa's stomach, pulling herself into the saddle. Rummaging through the waterbender's bag, she pulled out a woolen blanket from inside. It seemed to be woven together with wool of some sort, though Meili didn't know any animals in the south that had wool. Was it imported?

Pushing away her thoughts, Meili returned to the sick girl, draping the blanket over her. Katara seemed weak, her eyes lidded and her mouth parted just barely. Meili was surprised that her own body was unaffected — if anything, she expected herself to be the most susceptible to the storm's affects. After all, she didn't live in the Southern Water Tribe where they were used to cold water.

Meili then, against her better judgment, moved over to Sokka's cot, moving her hand to place it on his forehead. He felt warm, even to her, and she sighed heavily, realizing that he was not looking too good.

"Soft… hands…" he whispered lowly, and Meili blinked suddenly as she looked down at the boy. His eyes were closed, and she assumed that he was dreaming. But he was talking about her hands on his forehead, which slightly unnerved her.

His breaths became smoother as he drifted off further into sleep, and Meili blushed slightly when she realized that her hand was still lingering on his forehead. She was embarrassed that she didn't notice sooner, and quickly pulled her hand away like she had been burned. Looking outside of the tall arches that framed the ballroom ruins, she silently prayed for Aang to come back soon. She didn't know how long she could be stuck handling the two ill siblings.

Katara woke up first a few hours later, coughing hoarsely.

"Is… is Aang back… yet?" she spoke weakly, like her throat was too raw to speak the words correctly.

Meili shook her head, her cowl moving with her as she did so. "No, he's not."

"Maybe the leader of the Hog Monkey's army took him," Sokka's voice piped up, and Meili almost internally groaned. "Dolphin leech, tell me… who is the leader that took Aang?"

"Shouldn't you be asleep? Or better yet, not able to talk?" Meili spoke sardonically, her gaze annoyed beneath her hood.

"Someone would only say that if they knew who the leader was," Sokka said skeptically, coughing as soon as the words left his mouth. "Tell us … who it is."

"For the last time — I _don't_ know the leader of the Hog Monkey's army."

"Yes you do, you.. you, dolphin _leech_!"

"I'm pretty sure I would be dead right now if I was a dolphin leech.. seeing as how I'm _not_ in water."

"Hmm.." Sokka mumbled. "Water.. that sounds nice.."

Meili grumbled incoherently, grabbing the water canteen laying on the stone ground of the ballroom before walking to the opening of the ruins.

"Katara, make sure you hold down the fort here, okay? I shouldn't be longer than ten minutes. Even though I _desperately_ want to get away from your brother.."

"Okay, I'll," _cough_. "Make sure," _cough_. "Everything's alright.."

Meili sighed heavily and threw the canteen over her shoulder before setting out to find some drinkable water. The ruins were on the side of a mountain, and there were various paths leading all sorts of directions. Judging by that knowledge, Meili assumed that the ruins used to once be a very popular Earth Kingdom city. Possibly, because of the onslaught of war, it was targeted and destroyed, ruining the rich and elegant architecture with it.

Meili followed a small path headed just north of where they were staying. It was a thin, dirt pathway etched into the curve of the mountain, and she followed it down the sloping terrain. The sky was growing darker: nighttime was nearing, and a storm was also approaching. Meili didn't like the idea of another storm heading their way, especially with Aang traveling by himself.

But Meili was glad to be stepping outside for some fresh air. Sokka's onslaught of ridiculous questions and statements was starting to irritate her, and she was just happy to get herself away from the boy for just a few minutes.

Dark clouds rolled through the sky, blocking out most of the sun still visible behind the mountain pass. With no source of light, the girl grumbled slightly and resituated the pack on her back. She didn't like being out by herself at night.

She walked carefully, but swiftly, making sure that she was retrieving the water as fast as she could. As much as Meili knew that Katara could protect her brother, the waterbender wasn't exactly in the best state to do so. And with both Aang and Meili gone, the two siblings were susceptible to an attack.

The path twisted and turned as it weaved its way into a forest, finally taking a sharp right as it avoided the forward collision with a river bed. Meili grinned once she made it all the way down, walking off the path and toward the rushing water. It wasn't the cleanest, nor was it the coldest, but the water would have to do.

She pulled down her cowl and left herself be free for a few moments, enjoying the feeling of cool wind blowing through her hair. Inside of her cloak, she tended to get stuffy, so finally being able to take a deep breath of the refreshing outside air was calming to her. Meili cupped her hands and dipped them into the river water, lifting it up towards her lips and greedily taking in big gulps. She was tired and thirsty, no doubt the result from watching over the siblings all day.

After that, she cupped her hands once more and splashed the handful of water onto her face, gasping as the water collided onto her skin. She wiped away the water droplets clinging to her skin, feeling her hands rub against her eyes and cheeks. She briefly recalled Sokka's mumblings, his statement saying that her hands were soft. It was undeniably weird hearing a compliment from him, no matter how delusional he may have been. Maybe it was because he was always so gruff and temperamental, so much so that it drove her over the edge.

But a part of his statement also made her slightly sad, for he had no idea what her hands had done in the past. They were not soft. They were littered with bloodshed and tears. She shook her head as she slipped her hood back on over her hair, tucking her loose strands into the cloak. She reached over her shoulder and grabbed the canteen, pulling the container over her head.

As Meili was bending down to fill up the water, she heard rustling from behind her. In fear that someone was trying to attack, the girl immediately dropped the canteen and twisted around before dropping down in a fighting stance. The pouch collided with the ground, splashing all over the forest terrain.

Meili's gaze, however, merely landed on a small squirrel chipmunk that was staring at her with its beady eyes. Meili softened her stance, letting out a breath as she bent down to the ground. The black-haired girl held out her hand, watching as the squirrel chipmunk walk skittishly toward her. Meili thought that the behavior was strange; small creatures didn't like to roam around at night.

Usually, squirrel chipmunks would only wake if there was a disturbance, and they never approached humans unless they felt like they were in danger. Meili picked the small animal up and lifted her hands toward a tree branch, placing the rodent on the bark before watching it scurry higher into the pine.

Meili couldn't help but feel slightly worried at the animal's actions, putting her cowl back on over her head as she turned back around. She picked up the canteen from the ground, wiping off a few stray blades of grass from the lip of the pouch, and kneeling on the ground to capture the rushing water.

Someone was following her. Meili had no clear evidence, but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. And if they were watching her, they were probably looking for Aang.

Particularly restless, Meili returned with the water quicker than she thought she would. The black-haired girl helped Katara drink the liquid, and then she helped Sokka lift his head up to drink. Meili began to feel groggy and slightly warm herself, so she went back to her spot between the siblings.

Wrapping her cloak around her, she fought to keep her eyes open so that she could watch over the others. But she felt the tug of drowsiness take over her as her eyelids began to feel heavy. The shadows of night ricocheted around the ballroom walls like a haunting dance, and Meili couldn't help but close her eyes to the relaxing atmosphere.

She continued to battle her batting eyes until she suddenly felt sleep overtake her.

Meili woke up from her nap to see Aang striding into the ruins with an armful of frogs. He quietly slipped a frog into Katara and Sokka's mouth before falling limp onto Appa's tail.

"How was the trip, Aang?" Katara questioned with a mouth full of frog. "Make any new friends?"

"No," he sighed. "I don't think I did."

Meili walked slowly over to the boy and sat on Appa's tail as well. "What happened out there, Avatar? You were gone for a full night."

"You can't tell Katara and Sokka, they won't understand," Aang muttered, looking over his shoulder at the two siblings. His eyes seemed to be contemplating something, but he soon dropped his eyes down to his feet. ".. I was kidnapped by a group of Fire Nation archers.. called the Yuu Yan I think. They were under orders of the newly promoted Admiral Zhao to take me. I was in this room in chains, but.. I— I was saved by this masked man. And it turned out to be.. Prince _Zuko_."

"Wait.." Meili said, a hand moving in disbelief toward her mouth. "You mean the cranky Fire Nation prince, Prince Zuko?"

"Yeah.." Aang trailed off, biting his lip softly. "But, I just don't get why he would save me if he's trying to capture me."

Meili paused for a moment. "Maybe it was so that Zhao wouldn't keep you all to himself.. I mean, Prince Zuko wouldn't be able to capture you if you were already given to the Fire Lord."

"I know, it's just…" Aang trailed off before he sighed, ".. You're probably right."

"I've never met the prince, so I can't be too sure of what his intentions were," Meili spoke quietly, "but if he was saving you, then that means someone else was following me tonight."

"What do you mean someone was following you?"

"I don't know for certain, but when I went to go get water tonight, I just felt like someone was watching me," Meili muttered. "Maybe it was the Yu Yan looking for you… I don't know. But I think we should be more cautious."

"I think you're right," Aang agreed. "There's probably a lot more people than just Zuko and Zhao out there looking for me."

"Just… go ahead and get some rest. I'm sure you're tired," Meili spoke, standing up from her spot on the bison. "I can keep watch."

"Are you sure?" Aang questioned. "You've been sitting with them all night; I don't want you to get run down."

Meili nodded, walking up the bison's back to perch herself in the saddle, "I'm fine, Avatar. I can tell that you had a long night."

Aang didn't look convinced, but her mutely nodded his head as well. He took his spot on Appa's tail, snuggling against his glider as he curled up into the fur.

"Hey, Meili?" Aang spoke, making the girl turn around.

"Yeah?"

Aang looked down. "Thanks. For taking care of them.. and listening."

Meili nodded her head underneath of her cloak, "It's nothing."

And Aang barely caught the smile that he knew she was trying to hide underneath of her cloak as she sat in the saddle to take watch.

Meili sat in the saddle quietly as she listened to Aang fall asleep. His breathing evened out as he fell into a deep rest, and she could tell he was asleep once the tenseness left his shoulders.

She stared out past the open archways that led to the outside world, and she saw the rain from the approaching storm begin to fall down lightly. She used the rhythm of the rain to lull her into a false sense of comfort, hoping to rid her mind of the eerie feeling of someone following them.

Her head began to ache dully as the rain grew louder, and Meili pressed a head against her temple as if to relieve some of the pain. What a terrible time to get a headache, she thought agitatedly. The girl sighed, finding her headache to be far too strong for her to handle. Taking one look out into the storm, Meili knew that they would be safe.

And so she closed her eyes, just briefly, before she, too, fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

By the next morning, the two Water Tribe siblings were no longer sick. Katara's voice was still hoarse and Sokka was still acting strange, but both of them were pretty much healed except for the occasional cough.

Meili, however, was not fine. And she knew she wasn't fine. Her symptoms were different, but she knew she was sick. However, they had to keep moving, and so Meili pretended like she was fine as everyone loaded their belongings back into Appa's saddle.

Sokka was flying Appa today, which meant that Aang and Katara would be sitting off to the side talking in the saddle. Meili was silently grateful — that meant she could hide her illness without anyone overanalyzing her.

They flew above the clouds just in case it rained as they continued toward Mt. Makapu. A town was supposedly situated at the foot of the volcano, so their next stop for supplies would be there. Sokka was trying to make up for the time they lost, which meant that he was tightening up their schedule. He wanted to reach the Northern Water Tribe by the middle of winter, so they only had a few weeks left to get there.

Meili was always, normally, warm. She would get cold occasionally, usually when the sun was down; but for the most part, she was always warm. However, she could tell that her temperature was far higher than it should've been.

She was sweating underneath of her cloak, and the fabric of her tunic was beginning to stick to her back uncomfortably, but thankfully, her symptoms only included a fever and headache. With enough concentration, it was something she could easily ignore. Ignoring things was what Meili did best.

"We'll make camp along the far side of this clearing over here," Sokka could be heard commanding, and Meili looked up to see him scouting over the land below. "We'll continue the trip tomorrow and hopefully reach Mt. Makapu by midday. If we don't, we'll have to take all of our eating breaks and bathroom breaks at the same time."

"Ew what?" Katara said with distaste. "That's so unsanitary!"

"And not to mention gross!" Aang added.

"Sorry, guys. We need to make up all of our missed time."

Meili sunk back into her spot. "You can do that, Ponytail. But I'll be taking my breaks separately."

"Yeah," Katara agreed. "I'm not doing that either. We're fine. When Aang starts to worry, then we should be worried."

Aang nodded his head. "Avatar Roku said that all I needed to do was defeat the Fire Lord before the comet arrives, which is at the end of summer. Spending one day taking care of you guys wouldn't have put us that far behind."

The avatar then pulled out a map from one of the bags behind him. "Besides, there still so many things I want to see! Like over here, there's supposed to be the giant worm beetles that dance! And we still have to go to the Northern Air temple! Oh, and then there's supposed to be a—"

"I get it," Sokka cut in, grabbing the map from Aang's hands. "But this isn't just some game. We have to get to the Northern Water Tribe as soon as possible. Which means no distractions, no giant worm beetles, and no separate breaks!"

"Someone woke up feeling bossy today," Meili chided.

Sokka rolled his eyes as he landed in the clearing, pulling on Appa's reins so that the bison stopped just outside of a small forest next to a huge lake and mountain side. The last few sun rays were shining through the gaps of the trees, providing just enough light for them to set up camp.

Meili barely got any sleep that night, constantly tossing and turning in her spot restlessly. Her fever was continuing to rise, she knew it, but she couldn't do anything about it. If she told them, they would just stop and take up more time on their journey. Or they would take care of her — and see her scar.

That couldn't happen.

They awoke the next morning to Sokka waking them up loudly, barking orders for everyone to pack up camp while he caught breakfast.

The blue tent that they had used as shelter that night was being folded up and put into a pack by Katara as Aang fiddled with a string in his hands. Meili was bouncing a small pebble off of a boulder, feeling too sick to help pick up anything, and Sokka was splashing around in the water attempting to catch food.

A se tu, a large green fish native to the rivers of the southern and western Earth Kingdom, suddenly burst out from the surface of the water, narrowing its eyes to glower at Sokka.

The Water Tribe boy, who thought a look from an unimportant fish was a stab at his masculinity, scowled and took initiative to make that fish the group's breakfast. The tan boy grabbed a fishing pole he had crafted out of wood from one of the bags on the ground and flicked it forward to cast the line. Only… nothing hit the water.

"Hey, where's the fishing line?"

Aang rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Oh, I didn't think you would need it, Sokka."

Meili narrowed her eyes to focus her concentration on a small necklace laced in Aang's fingers. It was intricately braided with a small flower resting in the center.

"What is that? We're supposed to be packing up!" Sokka walked over to look at the necklace, grunting and throwing his hands on his head when he saw it. "Aw, and now this is all tangled!"

Aang sighed. "It's not tangled, it's woven! I made a necklace for Katara." He turned to the Water Tribe girl. "I thought since you lost your other one ..." he trailed off and displayed the necklace, holding it between his hands as he flashed a toothy grin.

Katara stopped her packing and smiled, grabbing the necklace from his hand, "Thanks, Aang. I love it!"

Sokka stared at the Avatar dully, "Great, Aang. Maybe instead of saving the world, you can go into the jewelry-making business."

Aang shrugged with a tight-eye smile, "I don't see why I can't do both."

"What necklace did she used to have?" Meili questioned with a yawn.

"You know, you could be helping us do something," Sokka angrily snapped, looking at the girl lounging on the ground.

"Like what?" Meili replied. "Should I be playing in the water with you? Oh, or maybe I should be making jewelry too. Hey, Princess, do you want a matching bracelet?"

"Ha ha very funny," Sokka said dully, not having found anything funny at all.

"It was a necklace that my mother gave to me when I was younger," Katara said lowly, answering Meili's question. Her face was glum and sallow. "But.. I lost it a few days before we met you."

Meili, suddenly uncomfortable, didn't know how to respond to such an emotional answer. "I'm sorry…"

The waterbender lifted the new necklace up to her neck. "It's alright. Aang decided to be super sweet and make me this."

"Yeah, while we're supposed to be packing up!" Sokka reminded them. "Seriously, do any of you guys understand that we're on a schedule?"

As Katara began tying the necklace around her neck, Meili continued throwing the pebble to the boulder in front of her. She glanced out of the corner of her eye towards the lake at a frustrated Sokka attempting to capture the se tu. She sighed with dull eyes at his annoying antics, feeling her headache thump in her head.

He jumped around in the lake in pure rage as he attempted to grab ahold of the fish, muttering insults underneath of his breath. Meili took the rock she had been throwing and tossed it at the back of Sokka's neck, watching him mistake it for the se tu's tail. Meili let an amused grin escape from her lips as he overreacted and swore vengeance.

She watched his form as he maneuvered through the water, twisting and turning as he attempted to catch the fish. Her gaze traveled from his hands up to his forearms then to his shoulders, not missing the way that his bicep curled with each movement. Her gaze lingered a little too long on the veins in his arms, a realization that made her turn her head away quickly. She instead moved her attention to his sister, who was clasping the necklace around her neck.

"So, how do I look?" Katara questioned, grabbing the attention of her friends.

Aang stared in awe as Meili blinked unemotionally.

"You mean, all of you or just your neck? I mean, because both look great!"

"I think she meant just her neck, Avatar."

Aang rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh, right…"

"Do you really like it?" Katara questioned with a smile.

Meili shrugged, "I mean.. for a necklace I guess it's alright.."

"It's more than alright!" Aang grinned widely. "It looks great on you."

Sokka emerged from the bottom of the lake with the se tu in his hands, making kissy noises at the fish. "Smoochie, smoochie, someone's in love!" he teased, however, it backfired, and the se tu jumped out of the Water Tribe boy's hands and back into the water. But not after it slapped Sokka in the face.

Aang glanced over at Katara in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his neck once more, "I ... well, uh ..."

Katara stared at her brother crossly, "Stop teasing him, Sokka. Aang's just a good friend," she smiled, rubbing the side of Aang's head. "A sweet, little guy! Just like Momo."

She pet the lemur on top of Meili's head.

Aang hung his head in dismay. "Thanks…"

The sudden sound of a carriage interrupted the some-what peaceful morning, making Aang jump off from his spot to inspect what was going on. Off in the distance, a man was walking slowly down a dirt pathway, not bothering to move out of the way.

"Hey, get out of the way!" Aang shouted, running over to where the man was. When he received no answer, he spoke again. "Hey! You're going to be hit!"

The man smiled like nothing was wrong, and continued walking, maybe even at a slower pace than before. Approaching quickly behind him was a caravan, and the ostrich horses pulling the cart were not heading in their movements.

"You need to move!" Katara joined in, her heart beating faster as the carriage approached dangerously close.

Just as the caravan was about to smash into the man from behind, Sokka, wet and carrying a fish, tackled the man out of the way just in time. He landed on the ground with a thud, bracing the impact as the traveling man landed on top of him.

"Are you crazy?" Sokka shrieked, looking back at the dust trail the caravan was leaving behind. "If I didn't push you out of the way, you would've been killed. You're lucky that we came along."

"Thanks, but everything was already under control. No luck involved," the man smiled, getting up off of the ground. He folded his hands tightly before bowing. "Aunt Wu predicted I'd have a safe journey."

"Aunt who?" Meili said with a confused expression.

"No, Aunt Wu," the man corrected. "She's a fortuneteller from my village. It's quite nice knowing your future."

Katara's eyes widened in curiosity, "Wow! That must be nice! I wonder if we can know our futures."

"How did you have a safe journey when you were almost crushed by an ostrich horse carriage?" Meili asked, crossing her arms.

"Aunt Wu predicted that I wouldn't be harmed. And I wasn't... Here — Aunt Wu told me to give this to any travelers I see," the man smiled, pulling a package out from underneath of his robe before handing it to Meili. "Well, have a nice day!"

"Maybe we should go see Aunt Wu and learn our fortunes," Katara said in excitement as she watched the man walk away. "You never know, it could be fun."

"Oh, come on. Fortune telling is nonsense!" Sokka exclaimed. "That man is crazy, Katara. I mean — he almost got ran over!"

"I don't know, Sokka, It's kind of cool," Aang grinned.

Sokka groaned, smacking himself in the forehead before looking dejectedly at Meili, "Please tell me you don't believe in fortune telling."

Meili shrugged, "I don't not believe in it; I just don't like the idea of knowing your future. Where's the fun in living your life if you already know what's going to happen?"

"You can find out about who you're going to marry!" Katara grinned, bouncing in her spot eagerly.

Meili sighed as she opened up the parcel given to her by the man. It was an umbrella.

"Why did that crazy man give us this?" Sokka questioned. As soon as the words left his mouth, a crack of thunder boomed in the sky and a heavy downpour shot down from the clouds.

Meili opened up the umbrella to shield herself from the rain while Katara and Aang protected themselves by bending the water in an arch over their head. Sokka stayed in his spot with his ever-present scowl and frown.

"Of course she predicted it was going to rain. The sky's been gray all day," Sokka mumbled underneath of his breath.

Meili rolled her eyes, "Just admit you might be wrong, and you can come under the umbrella. Or will that emasculate you?"

"I'm staying out here. I'm already soaked, and it's just going to keep raining and drizzling," Sokka stated, wiggling his fingers in an exaggerated way.

Suddenly, the skies cleared up, and every drop of rain seemed to disappear from existence. Sokka stared up at the sky angrily and Meili peered out from underneath of the umbrella.

"Not everyone has the gift, Sokka," Aang smiled.

Sokka crossed his arms in fury, the se tu in his hands flopping around with his movement.

After quickly packing up, the group began walking down the path that the man had come from, careful to watch out for any more caravans traveling their way. According to the map Sokka held, the next town they had been looking for was located right at the base of Mt. Makapu, a giant inactive volcano. The trail didn't go too much farther, so they carried on walking down the sunny pathway with a fully loaded Appa trailing behind.

Meili found that her head was getting worse, and her throat was beginning to burn uncomfortably. It was difficult to swallow — the back of her throat was raw from drainage. She sneezed quietly into the crook of her arm, earning a small bless you from her companions. They didn't suspect that she was sick, and that was just fine with her.

Eventually, they arrived at the outskirts of the village where two earthbenders seemed to be stationed. One of them looked at the group of travelers, then to the other guard before opening his mouth up to speak.

"Aunt Wu is expecting you."

"Really?" Katara questioned in excitement, jumping up and down eagerly.

"Yes, follow us," the first guard spoke, turning in his spoke before walking stiffly away. Katara immediately followed after them with no other questions asked. The rest of the group all looked at each other with quizzical eyes, not sure if they should trust the villagers or not. But with a quick chatter from Momo, they all sighed and followed after Katara.

They were led to a building in the center of the village with a round doorway, and colorful lanterns and candles hung from above the door. The extravagant decorations and the smell of sage made Meili realize that they arrived at the fortuneteller's quarters.

The group walked through the doorway and into the sitting room while Appa stayed outside, and Momo chattered goodbye to his friend as he scurried onto Meili's shoulder. Four blue pillows met their vision when they entered, the seats situated on the righthand side of the floor. Sokka was still gazing angrily at the place even as he took his seat, complaining that going to the fortuneteller was a waste of time.

A minute later, a young girl walked into the room. She was dressed in a pink robe and wore her hair in braids that stuck out from the sides of her head.

"Hello! My name is Meng, and I'm Aunt Wu's assistant," she said, greeting the four kindly. Her eyes widened, however, when her gaze landed on Aang. "Wow, hello."

Aang, oblivious to her blatant infatuation, rubbed his running nose before looking her lazily in the eyes. "Oh.. hi."

"Can I get you some tea .. or some of Aunt Wu's special bean curd puffs?"

"I'll have a bean curd puff," Sokka said happily, but his words were heard through deaf ears.

"So, what's your name?"

"Aang," the monk replied back in boredom.

"Hey, that rhymes with Meng!" she said with a huge smile, showing off a gap between her teeth. "And you have some pretty big ears."

Aang rose up an eyebrow, "I do?"

Meili rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Now that I look at them, they do look pretty big."

Aang covered his ears in embarrassment, sending a glare Meili's way. Meng then excused herself with a blush and left to go grab the food.

"I can't believe we're in this dumb house when we could be flying to the North Pole," Sokka grumbled. "We can't keep making so many unnecessary pit stops like this! We're wasting valuable time."

"What's more valuable than this? Try to keep an open mind, Sokka," Katara smiled. "There are things in this world that just can't be explained. Wouldn't it be nice to have some insight into your future?"

"I could do without it," Meili yawned, leaning back on the pillow underneath of her. She tried to focus on her breathing and ignore the terrible pain in her throat. "If she can't tell us the future of our world or the outcome of this war, I don't want to know."

Meng soon returned with a few trays of with four steaming cups of tea and Aunt Wu's special bean curd puffs, to Sokka's excitement. As the Water Tribe boy began stuffing his face in the signature dish, an older lady in fancy yellow robes glided into the room.

"Welcome, children. I'm Aunt Wu. Who wants to have their future predicted first?"

Sokka stared up at the woman with a distasteful glare and both Aang and Meili turned to Katara.

The Water Tribe girl shrugged her shoulders before standing up. "Well, guess that's me."

While Katara was away, and while Aang quickly left to go use the restroom a moment later, Meili sat lazily on her pillow feeding Momo the curd puffs. The taste was too bitter for the black-haired girl, so she figured the lemur would have more enjoyment eating them rather than her.

Aang returned a few minutes after that with a happy grin on his face. Though the girl didn't see why he would've been excited to finish using the bathroom.. and frankly she didn't want to know.

Aunt Wu opened up her doors with a graceful hand and led Katara back out into the waiting room. Aang looked at her bashfully when she came in and Sokka stood up with a sigh.

"Okay, okay. Let's get this over with.."

Aunt Wu looked the boy up and down dryly. "Your future is full of struggle and anguish… Most of it, self-inflicted."

Sokka lifted up his hands in confusion, "But you didn't read my palms or anything."

Aunt Wu deadpanned, "I don't have to. It's written all over your face."

Sokka grumbled underneath his breath while Aunt Wu took Aang with her to her fortune telling room. Meili remained lounging lazily in her spot as Katara returned to her original seat with a happy grin on her face.

"Oh my gosh, it was amazing!" Katara said dreamily. "The one I'm going to marry is going to be a kind, powerful man, and we're going to have three kids!"

"Whoop-de-doo," Sokka grumbled.

Meili shook her head and prayed that the telling would be over soon.

When it was finally Meili's turn, the fortunetelling woman held out her hand for the black-haired girl to follow. Meili politely refused, wanting nothing more than to just walk out of the room and drink a warm glass of tea to soothe the pain in her throat.

Katara glared at the other girl in the group, her gaze commanding Meili to follow the fortuneteller. And not wanting to deal with Katara's screeching, Meili sighed and stood up, and Momo scurried off of her arm and onto Aang's shoulder.

Meili was led to a dim room, where the walls were made out of bamboo. The lights were faint and the scent of the room was coy, making the atmosphere relaxing and tranquil. There were four pillars that held up the ceiling, and four seating cushions were circled around a small fire.

"Welcome to my chamber," the woman said softly, taking her place on one of the red cushions. She motioned her hand out for Meili to do the same.

The black-haired girl sat down with a low grumble. "I really don't want a fortune; I just know Katara will throw a fit if I don't come in here— and then I'll never hear the end of it."

"Knowing your fortune isn't always a bad thing," Aunt Wu replied back, holding out her hand. "Sometimes, it can reveal things we never would have imagined."

Meili stared at the older woman's hand. Fine lines and wrinkles dusted her palms, her purple nails extended far past her fingertips. "Seriously, can we not read my fortune and just say we did?"

"And let you leave without telling you how your scar will bring you great companionship?" Aunt Wu gave the girl a look that could kill as she beckoned Meili to let out her hand. "I don't think so."

"You… can see my scar?" Meili said with a gasp, tugging her hood down. "No wonder you were so eager to read my fortune."

Aunt Wu grabbed the girl's hand from her hood, jerking it toward her so she could see it. Meili yelped, her body leaning over the unlit fire pit. "H-hey! Didn't I just say I didn't want my fortune read? Isn't this like… assault or something?"

"I sense despair, anguish, and trepidation from your past," the woman spoke with furrowed brows, deep in thought.

"Aren't you a fortuneteller? Not a past teller?"

"Indecision plagues you well into your future as you try to decide between who you are and who you should be. This indecision will ultimately influence a choice that you make — a choice that could change the fate of this world."

"You really expect me to believe that you read all of this from the palm of my hand?"

Aunt Wu smiled, "I also read the energy from your chi."

"Okay, cool. Are we done now?"

"You don't like opening up to others."

Meili stiffened. "Alright, lady, you already read my palm. Isn't that enough?"

The woman sighed. "Yes, we can be done. Under the condition that you tell your friends that you're sick."

"I'm not sick," Meili lied.

"I could feel it in your palm. You have a fever and your chi is growing weaker," Aunt Wu spoke quietly, her gaze hard and stony underneath of her makeup-coated lashes. "Trusting in others can only help you; keeping things from them will only bring you harm."

Meili looked away. "Okay, thank you for your time."

The black-haired girl showed herself out, leaving the room without even a glance back.

Her face was hot, though she didn't know if it was from the fever or her anger. Everyone was trying to invade her life, trying to tell her what to do. If she didn't want to open up to others, she didn't have to. And if she didn't want to burden them with her sickness, then she didn't have to.

She stormed into the room where her friends were waiting, grabbing her bag off of the ground, before opening up the door to leave.

"Meili? How did it go?" Katara asked enthusiastically, following after the girl.

"We're getting our supplies and then leaving," the girl replied bluntly, walking into the outside.

"Well, now you got to see for yourselves how fortune telling is just a big, stupid hoax," Sokka said as he and Aang followed behind the girls, the doors closing behind the group.

Katara rose up a smug eyebrow, "You're just saying that because you're going to make yourself miserable your whole life."

"That woman is crazy!" Sokka shouted, clenching his fists as he abruptly stopped in the middle of the pathway. "My life will be calm .. and happy … and joyful!"

On the last word, the Water Tribe boy kicked a rock on the pathway in front of him, only to have it shoot back up into the air, bounce off of a sign, and smack him in the face.

Meili stared at the boy rolling on the ground in agony. "That doesn't look calm or joyful to me."

"This proves nothing!" Sokka grumbled from the ground.

Katara and Aang giggled slightly as Meili glanced to the side, noticing the townspeople gathering in the center of the town.

"What's going on over there?"

Aang shrugged, "I don't know, let's go check it out!"

Sokka dragged a hand down his face. "Does anyone even listen to me? We have to go!"

Katara and Aang both ignored the Water Tribe boy, running swiftly into the crowds of townspeople arranging themselves around the village's center. As the four approached, Katara noticed the man that they had met earlier that morning.

"What's with the sky?" she questioned him.

"We are waiting for Aunt Wu to come and read the clouds to predict the fate of the whole village."

"Hey, that one kind of looks like a turtle duck!" Aang said in excitement.

The man's eyes opened up in fear, "You better hope not. A turtle duck forecasts doom and destruction."

Sokka smacked himself in the forehead. "Do you even hear yourself?"

"Yeah," Meili joined in. "I would've thought it forecasted bad weather and lightning."

"Nope," the man smiled. "Just doom and destruction."

Sokka smacked himself in the forehead again.

A kind woman saw the Avatar and his friends and walked over, pointing toward the large volcano in the distance. If Meili could remember correctly, that was Mt. Makapu, which was infamously named after the village. That was also in the book about the Great Divide, as well as many other landmarks around the world.

"Aunt Wu will predict if whether or not our volcano will remain dormant for another year or if it will erupt."

The man smiled, "We used to have a tradition of having a few villagers go up the mountain and check the volcano ourselves. But ever since Aunt Wu moved to the village twenty years ago, we have a tradition of.. well, not doing that."

Sokka scowled, "I can't believe you guys would put your lives into the hands of this crazy, old woman's predictions!"

Katara smacked her brother on the head, "Shhhh! She's coming!"

Aunt Wu, dressed her elegant golden robe, walked up a set of stairs leading toward the center of the village. She was accompanied by her guards, who flanked close behind as they led her through the crowd. Everyone clapped, except for Sokka, as she made her way into a gazebo. She took a deep breath before gazing out toward the sky, holding a small blue book in her right hand.

"Bending arrow cloud ... Good crops this year — Nice big harvest."

The farmers of the village cheered.

"Jagged, vine-shaped cloud.. fewer bugs this year."

A man holding a butterfly net dropped his head in despair.

"Wavy, moon-shaped cloud ... Let's see…" she checked her book before smiling. "Gonna be a great year for twins!"

A set of twins jumped up in the air in excitement.

"And a cumulus cloud with a twisted nob coming off the end of it ..." she trailed off before closing her book and spreading her arms out. "The village will not be destroyed by the volcano this year!"

The village cheered ecstatically as Aunt Wu returned back to her fortune house. Aang and Katara cheered with them while Meili remained indifferent and Sokka scowled.

"I can't believe all these idiots!" Sokka grumbled angrily, walking away from the scene with Meili following closely behind. "Someone really needs to scream some sense into them."

"Let them believe what they want," Meili yawned, rubbing the back of her neck. Now her neck was stiff? The girl had to hold back a low grumble. It was as if the spirits wanted her to be sick.

"No! I'm going to prove to them that Aunt Wu's predictions are just a bunch of nonsense."

Meili sighed, "I guess that means that you're going to drag me along with you.."

"Well, Katara is off begging Mrs. Crazy-Lady for her 'insight to the future', and Aang is doing who-knows-what. Besides, they both like Aunt Wu's predictions. They wouldn't be any help anyways."

"And you think I will be?" Meili questioned indifferently.

"Just — come help me talk some sense into these people!" Sokka shouted before turning his head toward a villager. "Like, look at that man with those red shoes over there…"

Sokka then traveled to seemingly ever villager, telling them to stop believing in the words of Aunt Wu. Meili just followed behind him, trying her best to ignore her increasingly annoying symptoms. Like the pressure in her sinuses, the ringing of her ears, and the running of her nose.

"I don't care what Aunt Wu told you! You have to take a bath sometime!"

The smelly man in front of Meili and Sokka merely laughed before walking away.

"Do you see that, Meili! He's a lunatic! And he smelled like three-day-old llama deer meat!"

Meili sighed for the hundredth time that day, looking at Sokka with bored eyes. Sometimes she wished he could see her expression. Maybe then he would stop talking to her.

"Hey, Sokka!" a voice suddenly interrupted, making the two kids turn to see Aang sprinting toward them. He came to a halt beside them. "So, Sokka.. you know some stuff about .. ladies, right?"

"Some stuff?" Sokka stated as if that was an understatement. He grinned smugly as he placed an arm around his friend's shoulders. "You've come to the right place, Aang. What can I do for you?"

"What do you actually know about relationships, Ponytail?" Meili questioned, a mocking tone evident in her voice.

"I know plenty of stuff," Sokka's voice cracked as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Besides, I'm quite the ladies man."

Meili smirked, "I thought the only girl in your village your age was Katara?"

Sokka's expression changed to one of embarrassment. "I still know what I'm talking about!"

"Okay," Meili grinned. "Go ahead love doctor."

Sokka cleared his throat, "Ahem. As I was saying, Aang, what can I do to help?"

"Well," Aang trailed off, looking to the side. "There's this girl.. and well I think I like her.."

Sokka nodded his head, "I think I know who you mean."

Aang opened his eyes in surprise, "You do? And you're okay with it?"

"Of course I am," Sokka said, waving a hand dismissively. "And to tell you the truth, I've been picking up a subtle vibe that she likes you, too."

Meili deadpanned as she saw Sokka's eyes travel to the right to look at Meng, the girl who was Aunt Wu's assistant. He was mistaking Aang's mystery girl, who she was pretty sure was Katara, for her..

"She does?" Aang questioned in astonishment.

"Oh yeah, she's crazy about you," Sokka grinned. "All you have to do now is not mess it up."

Aang paused, "Well, how do I do that?"

Sokka cracked his knuckles before patting his friend on the back. "The number once mistake nice guys like you make is being too nice."

Meili coughed lightly before narrowing her eyes, "You can't be too nice."

"If you want to keep girls interested, you have to act aloof," Sokka stated, looking toward Meili. "Trust me it works every time. You gotta like you don't really care one way or the other."

"That's not how it works.." the girl mumbled.

"Well… if that's how you get girls, Sokka," Aang trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I guess I'll try it."

"It works every time," Sokka grinned.

Meili sighed as she watched Aang walk calmly away, accidentally ignoring Meng, who had just came over to talk to him.

"Wow, he's good," Sokka acknowledged.

Meili shook her head, watching the girl in pink robes walk away in dejection. Sokka placed both arms behind his head and smiled gleefully, leaning his head back. Out of the corner of Meili's eye, however, she caught a flicker of movement just outside of the town. It was as if someone was trying to move out of her view.. but she was just able to catch the glimpse of something red.

"Hey, Ponytail.. you don't feel like anyone's been following us lately do you?" Meili questioned seriously, turning toward the boy.

"Hello? Have you forgotten about the creepy Fire Nation prince? You know— the one that's been chasing us around the entire _world_?"

Meili shook her head, "No, I'm not talking about him.. I feel like someone's been watching us. Back when you and Katara were sick, I went to get you guys some water and—"

"—It's probably nothing," Sokka shrugged off. "Probably just a girl thing."

Meili closed her eyes and tried her best to not explode on the boy in front of her. Just before she was about to retort back to him, however, Aang came sprinting toward the two, skidding to a halt beside them.

"Back so soon?" Meili questioned with a slight grin.

"Hey, Sokka! I need you to come with me!" Aang exclaimed, and Momo, who was perched n the young boy's shoulder, hopped off and flew to the top of Meili's head.

"Come with you to what?" Sokka asked.

"There's supposedly some rare flower at the top of the volcano, and I need to get it for the girl I like!" Aang said with a grin.

Sokka grinned smugly, "Leave it to me."

The two boys waved to Meili before heading out, well, Aang rode off on his air scooter and Sokka ran off after him in a hurry to keep up. Meili chuckled lowly, coughing slightly in-between chuckles. Why were boys so weird?

Finding herself alone for the first time in a while, besides Momo laying on her head, the girl made it her priority to find an herbal medicine shop of some kind. Hopefully, she could get rid of her sickness before anyone caught on to it. Reaching into her pocket, she found that she had three silver pieces and five copper pieces. They were remnants of her time in the Freedom Fighters, money she had stolen from the Fire Nation soldiers they raided. She had been saving her money in a time of need, and this was proving to be one of those times.

She walked around the small village, taking note of the strange villagers that inhabited the place, many of which were either the elderly or children. She supposed that the town was a lucky one unaffected by the Fire Nation, which led to many weaker Earth Kingdom citizens choosing to reside in it.

Nevertheless, she was able to find a small medicinal shop located just at the outskirts of the village. The owner was a nice older woman with a kind smile and gray hair.

"What can I do for you, stranger?" she spoke softly, taking out a long-sleeved arm to gesture to the array of tubes and vials stacked on the wooden shelves.

"I'm looking for something to help with a cough and a possible fever. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what I have."

The woman stroked her chin, "Hm, well if you're suffering from a cold, Aunt Wu has told me to recommend a hot bath to those that seek assistance. And to also," she paused, turning around to rummage in a box on the ground, "give them this."

The older woman handed Meili a small jar full of a jelly like substance that was green in color.

"This is a rare blend of Fern Vera; it's extremely rich in antioxidants and antibacterial agents. It may not taste the best, but eating one of these jars is sure to boost your immune system to fight off whatever you have."

"Thank you," the black-haired girl said quietly. "How much?"

"Seven copper pieces."

Meili handed over a silver piece and received change back, stuffing the jar into her back pouch before strolling away from the shop.

She found refuge in an alleyway, sitting on the ground and propping her back up against the wall behind her. She coughed into the crook of her arm, the sound coming out in a wet and forceful gurgle. Meili shook her head and wiped her mouth, fumbling with her free hand in the bag hanging behind her to reach for the medicine. The jar was small, but obviously handcrafted. Meili could only guess that the jar was bought from somewhere in town as a means to support the local shops of their village.

Opening up the medicine, Meili slightly blanched; it smelled awful. Plugging her nose, she counted to three before slurping down the green-jelly-substance, fighting the urge to let it come back up once she swallowed it. If the Fern Vera didn't cure her, Meili was coming back to fight that old woman. Momo jumped to her shoulder and clicked in her ear, sensing her discomfort. Meili reached up and scratched his head softly, thanking him for the concern.

Hoping to let the medicine kick into her system, Meili found herself walking around the town to kill time. The children were joyous and full of laughter, and families sat in the autumn breeze enjoying company with one another. Meili felt a pang of sadness in her heart as she watched the happy families, and something made her think back to the orphanage. She remembered watching children leave with their new families, something she never got to experience.

She believed that her and Jai escaping together was the closest thing she ever truly had to having a family — as messed up as the circumstances were.

Her thoughts were interrupted by several large bangs ricocheting across the town. They sounded angry and forceful, two things that made Meili want to check it out. And so she walked through the town, following the sound of a fist knocking on wood. When the black-haired girl turned down a new pathway, she saw Katara in the distance in front of Aunt Wu's quarters.

"Can you believe she won't let me in? And after all the business I've given her?" Katara questioned angrily as she continued pounding on Aunt Wu's door. Meili sighed once she approached the girl.

"You know she doesn't charge, right?" Meili asked.

"I know," Katara sighed. ".. But —still."

"Maybe you should take a break from asking her things, Princess… she's probably annoyed."

"Annoyed? But this is her job! She's supposed to be reading people's fortunes!"

"Yeah, maybe like once a week…or month…"

"I guess you're right," Katara sighed, moving out of the door frame and crossing her arms. "But it's just — with this war going on, there are so many thing I want to know. Like when I'll see my father again."

Meili nodded her head, her cowl bouncing with the movement. "But if you let the fear of the future consume you, you'll lose sight of the present…"

Katara seemed to ponder the girl's words for a moment, before a smile began to creep upon her face. "Well, if I can't hear any more of my fortunes, I want to know what she told you!"

"No," Meili spoke harshly, her face grimacing underneath of her hood.

"Come on! Think of it as girl-bonding-time; you really need it!"

"And what makes you say that?"

Katara grinned, "Meili, please? Did she say who you're going to marry? Oh, or how many kids you're going to have?"

"No and no," Meili pouted. "I would never want to know trivial things like that anyways."

The sound of fast-paced footsteps echoed off of the surrounding walls and made the two girls pause the conversation.

"Stop your girly squabbling and listen to this," Sokka suddenly said, approaching with Aang from the town's center. "We have other things to worry about.. Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano."

Katara sighed, "Look, Sokka, you tried to convince me she was wrong before. It's going to take an awful lot to change my mind now—"

Katara's rant was interrupted by a huge explosion that shook the ground, and the group turned to look toward the volcano with smoke coming out of the top of it.

We have to go tell everyone!" Aang shouted, throwing out an arm as he rushed back toward the center of the town.

They all followed after Aang to warn the town's folk of the impending danger, but because of Sokka's disbelief in Aunt Wu, not a single person believed their warning. Most of them thought that the rest of the kids were in on it, that even Katara was just trying to help her brother's suspicions of the woman be heard.

Meili couldn't believe how stupid the villagers were. Looking up into the sky, the color of soot and ash was beginning to flood the cloudless, blue sky. This was the reason that being too trusting was a flaw. Following people strictly on their words and beliefs was unfathomable to her.

"We have to do something else," Aang spoke desperately.

Meili shook her head. "Why don't we just leave; it's not like they're going to listen anyways."

"You know we can't do that," Katara huffed. "These people need us, whether they want our help or not."

"It serves them right though - believing in that stupid-cloud-lady... They were bound to find out that she was a kook sooner or later," Sokka said smugly with a lopsided grin.

The three kids came up with a plan to help the village while Meili drifted off into thought. Her mind was far from the village of Mt. Makapu, settling instead on the words Aunt Wu had spoken to her earlier that day. If she was wrong about the volcano, was she wrong about Meili's future? Were her speculations correct or off-base? The girl coughed into the crook of her arm, shaking her head at her over-analyzing.

The woman was definitely wrong. A small, worthless girl like her would never influence the fate of the world. That was the Avatar's job, not Meili's.

As she zoned back, focusing her thoughts elsewhere, she realized that Sokka proposed a brilliant plan to steal the fortuneteller's cloud book and bend the clouds to display the symbol for volcanic destruction. If the villagers would only listen to Aunt Wu, they had to make the older woman aware of the imposing danger. So after Aang successfully slipped into Aunt Wu's house and stole the book, Katara and Aang flew up into the sky on top of Appa in order to manipulate the clouds into the shape of a skull, the apparent sign for volcanic destruction.

Sokka and Meili stayed in the village, spending their time collecting the villagers near the gazebo and taking Aunt Wu toward the center to show her the change in the clouds.

"What is all the commotion about…" the woman trailed off, squinting her eyes as she looked up into the sky. Her face contorted into a sickening frown of disbelief, and he eyes were shadowed with worry. "My spirits! The volcano is going to erupt!"

Sokka hit himself in the head.

Once all of the villagers were aware of the imminent danger, the group wasted no time in organizing the village's earthbenders together to help create a trench around the town for the lava to pour into.

The town, both earthbenders and not, worked together until the skies turned dark to dig the trench. Once nightfall had completely fallen over the town, the volcano began shaking and rumbling louder, and lava was even beginning to spill from the top.

"Dig faster!" Sokka shouted anxiously, using his shovel to dig even quicker than before.

Meili wiped a bead of sweat off of her forehead before letting out a breath, leaning her weight on the shovel in front of her. She thought the Fern Vera had been helping, but she felt tired and drained, even more so than usual. Her face was hot, a combination of her furious digging, embers flying around, and another, probable, fever. The lava looked about ready to spill out from the top of the volcano, and Meili didn't think any more digging would make a difference.

To her delight, Sokka then called for everyone to evacuate, something she didn't mind doing.

However, she had to remain with her three other companions, so she wasn't allowed to leave just yet. The four kids stood in front of the trench, waiting to make sure the town was going to be safe as the lava poured into the canal. Meili stood sturdy as she felt the heat of the lava warm her veins.

"It's going to overflow!" Katara shouted in fright, grabbing onto the sleeve of her brother's top.

Sokka nodded, "We need to leave. Now."

As Katara, Meili, and Sokka began to run for safety, they turned around to see that Aang had remained frozen in his position. A huge crack sounded in the sky, and several boulders and rubble exploded from within the volcano. A rock hurdled down toward the town at rapid speeds, landing inside of the trench and the residual lava within. It pushed the molten rock out of the trough and in an arch toward the city. Aang rushed forward as the lava began to overflow, blowing a gust of wind from his mouth toward the lava to make it harden into stone. Aang relaxed as the threat was taken care of, and he let out a deep breath.

"Wow," Meili breathed, staring up at the monk in awe. "I always knew that the Avatar was strong, but he really is a powerful bender."

".. Wait," Katara spoke, turning her head toward her female friend. "What did you just say?"

Sokka shrugged, gesturing to the monk in front of them. "Nothing really. Just that Aang is one powerful bender."

Aunt Wu's words echoed in Katara's head as she smiled slightly, staring at Aang as if she had an epiphany. "Yes.. I suppose he is."

* * *

"Sorry.. we kind of borrowed your cloud book," Aang said sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck as he held the book out in front of him the next day. The following day had been tense; the lava that threatened to destroy the village the day prior was now cooled and hardened into a protective shield around the outskirts of the town. Although, they had only Aang to thank for that.

"So you messed with the clouds, eh?" Aunt Wu said harshly, snatching the book from Aang's hand with a grin. "Very clever!"

"No offense, but I hope this taught everyone here a valuable lesson about not relying too much on fortune telling," Sokka said to the town's people, crossing his arms as if he had been right all along.

The man they had met outside of the village the day prior smiled, "But Aunt Wu predicted that the village wouldn't be destroyed... and it wasn't. She was right, after all."

Sokka gritted his teeth and stomped over to the man, "I hate you.."

As Katara dragged Sokka away from the man and Aang talked with Aunt Wu, Meili gathered up their stuff and threw it into Appa's saddle. And after Sokka was approached strangely by Aunt Wu, the rest of the gang joined the cloaked girl on Appa. After a small goodbye to the inhabitants of the town, Aang waved farewell and flew the sky bison out of Makapu Village and into the skies.

"What did Aunt Wu say to you?" Katara questioned eagerly once they were on their resumed path north.

"Just some stupid stuff," Sokka grumbled, waving his hand dismissively.

"I kind of want to know too," Aang said from behind the reins.

Sokka grumbled underneath of his breath. "I'm telling you it was a bunch of nonsense! It didn't even make sense."

"C'mon, Sokka! It's not that big of a deal," Katara smiled.

Sokka rolled his eyes, "She said something stupid like, 'What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.' Whatever that means!"

"Hmm a riddle," Katara spoke, rubbing a hand along her chin. "Wonder what it could mean."

"Well, you and Sokka can think about it while we're on our way to the North Pole!" Aang grinned.

"Never thought I'd hear Ponytail's name and 'think' in the same sentence..." Meili muttered, earning an angry scowl from the Water Tribe boy.

"I hate you.."

Meili grinned.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hello, lovies! Welcome back :) I wanted to thank everyone for the continued support, especially for those of you who have followed, favorited, and reviewed!

Here's a little bit of my responses to those who have reviewed Scars so far:

To Needingoflifegoaldude : Thank you for noticing my thought process behind the chi reading! There's definitely a lot of canon ideas that I pull from, and I want to take some of these concepts and expand upon them in greater detail. This means that while we may be following canon plot right now, that soon wont be the case ;)

To waterbendtheocea : Thank you for the review, love! I appreciate that you like Meili and her story behind who she is (more of which you guys will find out later hehe). For me, my main goal of this story is to kind of dive deeper into the world that we grew up loving. Some things could have used more explanation inside of the cartoon, and I aim to help explain those things based on my knowledge of the ATLA/LOK universe. Meili serves as the eyes and ears of my analyzation of the cartoon, and I hope her story makes the amazing storyline even better!

That's it for now! I'll see you guys in the next update :)


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm telling you, we have to go left!"

A quiet yawn. "If we go to the left, Ponytail, we'll go back into the forest."

"But that's where the tracks went!"

"Sokka, llama deer are attracted to the water, they would've gone toward the shore."

"Dad taught me how to track, not you, Katara! We have to go left."

A nervous frown. "I don't know, Sokka, Katara might be right."

"Princess _is_ right, Ponytail."

Sokka grumbled incoherently under his breath. "I'm telling you that the tracks went back into the forest."

"—Hey, look at this!" Aang suddenly exclaimed, sliding down a dirt slope before holding up a mysterious weapon in his hands.

"Let me see that," Sokka said suspiciously, snatching the item from Aang's hand. "A sword made out of a whale's tooth.. This is a Water Tribe weapon!"

"Really?" Katara questioned in excitement, looking at the sword in her brother's hands. "Let's see if we can find anything else!"

Meili separated from the group and looked around the clearing in the forest around them. There were slashes along the bark of many trees, and areas of disturbed terrain signaled the occurrence of a fight. Meili bent down next to one of the many berried bushes to pick up a spearhead. It was charred at the top, and when Meili lifted up a delicate finger to inspect it, the stone crumbled into nothing.

"There was a battle here.. Water Tribe warriors ambushed Fire Nation soldiers."

"Are you sure, Meili?" Katara questioned, looking at the dust of the spearhead in her hands.

She nodded, "Positive."

"The firebenders fought back, but the warriors drove them down this hill," Sokka added on, pointing toward the shoreline.

The group followed the tracks until their feet touched the sand.

"So, then what happened?" Aang asked, suddenly intrigued.

Sokka shrugged, "I don't know, the trail ends here."

"Well, there has to be something else out here," Meili, stated, glancing out along the shoreline. The battle wouldn't have just ended abruptly like that without any more traces.

"Over there!" Katara shouted, pointing toward a large rock with a large ship anchored next to it.

Sokka perked up and scrambled over to the ship, "It's one of our boats! It's not Dad's, but it's from his fleet!"

The rest of the group caught up to the Water Tribe boy, watching him as he looked at the ship longingly. Sokka turned toward his sister with starry eyes, smiling slightly as he looked back at the ship.

"Dad was here."

That mere realization made the group stop at the shore and set up camp. Sokka stated that wherever a Water Tribe ship was, its men were never far behind.

They continued to search for clues, but soon, the sky began to fade into dark violets and blues, signaling that nightfall had arrived. Sokka was standing by the boat, his expression thoughtful, as Aang and Katara huddled around the campfire Meili had made.

"So, how long do you think it's been since someone was here?" Katara questioned.

"Long enough for moss to grow on the hull," Sokka spoke with uncertainty. "Probably about three months."

"Oh," Katara said, disappointment evident in her voice. "So dad's probably long gone."

Sokka ran his fingers over the wood of the boat, feeling the grooves and ridges of the boards. "I wonder why they left this boat. There's nothing wrong with it."

"Maybe they didn't need another one?" Meili spoke. "Your dad probably condensed the crew into fewer boats to be more inconspicuous."

"When was the last time you saw your dad anyways?" Aang questioned, his voice light despite the dark look growing on Sokka's face.

"I don't want to talk about it," Sokka mumbled out.

"Sorry," Aang apologized. "I didn't mean to bring that up; I was just wondering."

The Water Tribe girl next to him ran a consoling hand down the monk's back. "It's okay Aang. Our dad left about two years ago, with all the other Water Tribe men."

Sokka made his way back over to camp, laying down in his cot and pulling his blanket over him. "I think we should all try to get some sleep."

Following his tense words, the rest of the group obliged and dropped the topic, laying down in their cots as well and attempting to sleep.

However, Meili found that she could not. She didn't know if it was because of her sickness or because of the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore, but something was keeping her awake. She laid still for a few hours, but was too restless to feign slumber. She opened her eyes up from her attempted sleep, yawning quietly as she slowly sat herself up.

She had assumed that the others would still be asleep, but Sokka sat ridged in his place, wide awake. He stared into the fire with tired eyes but remained alert, no doubt keeping watch while the others slept. He hadn't noticed that she was awake, and he continued staring into the dancing embers in front of him.

The glow from the fire illuminated the Water Tribe boy's face, and for the first time, Meili actually took the time to look at the teen.

Meili knew what an attractive boy looked like. She did spend a few years living with Jet, and he was a pretty attractive boy. The thing that made Jet attractive was his husky physique: his toned muscles, tall stature, golden skin — any girl would've been blind to think that he was unattractive.

Sokka was different though. He wasn't ripped like how Jet was; but he was, instead, lithe with lean muscle that matched his slightly shorter frame. The muscles weren't big, but rather toned and defined. Meili could see the outline of his shoulder as the boy fiddled with his boomerang, and every slight movement would cause a ripple in his deltoid.

His skin wasn't golden like how Jet's was, but it was more of a cool tan. The dark skin contrasted her own, and gave the boy a more rugged appearance — one that looked as though he spent hours outside in the sun. He was handsome: dark hair pulled into a tight ponytail away from his face, and striking blue eyes staring straight into the flames in the fire.

His jaw was clenched firmly, etching out the rough line of his young face. His eyes held an odd emptiness, as if something in his life was bothering him. The tight line of his thin lips and ever-so-slight frown indicated that something was indeed wrong, but even his troubled face was attractive.

Meili shook her head as the thoughts entered her mind, almost repulsed that she let herself think that way.

Even if she found him attractive — which she now had to convince herself that she didn't — he was still annoying. A sexist, egotistical, annoying boy. Though his personality was far more enjoyable than Jet's, he was still not on her radar. Boys were idiotic.

So with her weird thoughts of finding the Water Tribe boy attractive out of the way, she made her awake-presence known with a slightly loud yawn.

Sokka looked up from the fire warming up his face before nodding at the girl in front of him and resuming his gaze back toward the fire.

Sokka couldn't understand why she had been looking at him.

Oh yeah, he knew she was awake. He wasn't as dumb as he looked. Maybe she was thinking about how incapable he was. That's why he was sitting in anger, wallowing in self-pity. His father didn't think he was strong enough to help fight in the war. Granted that was two years ago, and he was thirteen then, but he was still looked down upon by his father as if he was a child.

He wasn't some talented bender like his sister. He wasn't a skilled swordsman. Hell, he couldn't even tell rocks apart from food. He liked being looked up to, but with all these great fighters surrounding him, he felt worthless and out of place.

A strange noise echoed suddenly in the nighttime air, and both Sokka and Meili pushed aside their thoughts and focused on what was out there.

"Who's there?" Sokka questioned, gripping his boomerang in his hand.

"Sokka?" a voice called back, and suddenly a tall man wrapped in bandages stepped out from behind a tree. The voice, spoken cautiously, as if unbelieving, belonged to a tall man with dark olive skin.

Sokka's eyes stared in confusion before realization slowly began kicking in, and they opened up in joy.

"Bato!"

Aang and Katara, who had been woken up due to the loud commotion, stared up in confusion as the man ran to embrace Sokka. Katara suddenly realized who the man was, too, and scrambled up from her cot to greet the man. Meili and Aang merely stared out in confusion.

"Sokka, Katara! It is so good to see you two! You've both grown so much," the man named Bato smiled. Aang got up from his spot and walked up behind the Water Tribe siblings, bowing towards the man respectfully.

"Hi, I'm Aang—"

"—Is Dad here?" Sokka interrupted, making Aang deadpan at being cut off mid introduction.

"No, he and the other warriors should be in the Eastern Earth Kingdom by now," Bato stated. A cold wind suddenly blew itself along the beach, making everyone shiver.

"This is no place for a reunion. Let's move this somewhere else," Bato smiled, turning around to walk down the beach with Katara and Sokka following close behind. After a moment, he looked back and motioned for Aang and Meili to follow suit. Aang started walking behind them, but faltered as Meili looked back towards their camp.

"I'll only be a minute," she stated, walking backwards toward the fire. "I have to break down camp."

Aang nodded, jogging slightly to catch up with the group.

Momo stayed back with the cloaked-girl while she packed up camp; rolling up the cots, throwing sand over the fire, and packing everything into the bag on her shoulders. She stared into the last flickers of embers burning in the fire before turning around and following in the footsteps of her friends.

* * *

In the shadows of the trees, a mysterious voice chuckled darkly.

"They seem to be distracted.. We should put our plan in motion soon."

"The Water Tribe boy and the Avatar may prove to be a hindrance in this plan. If they know.. it'll be much harder to get the reward."

"What about the cloaked-boy? Won't he hold back the plan too?"

"Leave him be.. We are only focused on the Avatar."

Then the two voices melded back into the shadows

* * *

After a few minutes of walking in the windy, starless night, Bato soon arrived at an abbey where nuns were walking about.

"After I was wounded, your father carried me to this monastery. The sisters have cared for me ever since — Superior, these are Hakoda's children. They've been traveling with the Avatar and this girl. I found them by my boat."

An older woman turned in her spot to look at the children, smiling slightly as she glanced at their faces.

"Young Avatar, it gives me great joy to be in your presence. Welcome to our abbey," the superior greeted, bowing to Aang.

"Thank you. It is an honor to be here. If there's anything I can do just let me know."

The superior smiled, "Thank you."

"—What smells so good, Bato?" Sokka said with a sniff, holding his nose high in the air.

"The sisters craft ointments and perfume," Bato explained, gesturing to the various ceramic pots lining the abbey walls.

"Perfume? Maybe we can dump some on Appa, because .. he stinks so much. Am I right?" Sokka suggested, laughing at his own joke. An awkward silence followed, and Meili rubbed her temple.

Why had she found this idiot attractive again?

"You definitely have your father's wit," Bato said un-amused. He motioned everyone to follow him to where he had been staying — a small hut inside of the monastery. It had been decorated to resemble the Water Tribe culture, and these details seemed to be easily noticed by the two siblings.

"It looks exactly like home," Katara shouted in excitement.

"Yeah, even the animal skins!" Sokka added.

"Yeah, nothing's cozier than dead animal skins," Aang muttered as Meili nodded her head in agreement. Momo jumped off of the girl's head and examined the dead skin of an arctic seal bear, hitting it on the top of the head.

"No way! Stewed sea prunes!" Sokka smiled, opening up the top to a pot of stew. The smell was enough to make Meili's hunger disappear, and she respectfully rejected the bowl of sea prunes offered to her. She opted to sit in the corner of the room, watching Momo play around with the various sets of animal heads and pelts.

After some time, she slowly grew bored . The heat within the room, while it would usually feel good to the girl, was seemingly unbearable and so she thought that it would be better if she got some fresh air.

The group sent a questioning glare toward the girl as she stood up, but Meili merely pointed outside. "I'm just going to … walk around for a little while," she stated, walking out of the hut and stepping out into the abbey.

She soon found her way back at the beach, and she sat herself on the helm of the Water Tribe's ship, left alone in her thoughts.

She thought about Jai — about how he was doing. Where was he? Was he having fun? She wondered how the rest of the Freedom Fighters were. Was Jet still crazy? Were Smellerbee and Longshot still denying the fact that they liked each other? Was Sneers still stealing Jet's food without him knowing? Did the group laugh when Jet noticed his food was not on his plate?

She smiled at the memories as she leaned her head on the bow of the ship. She wished she could still be surrounded by her friends… She knew that she had become friends with the people of her group now, but it wasn't the same. They weren't people she had grown up with. She couldn't tell them her secrets like how she could with Jai.

A low screech of an ostrich horse suddenly interrupted Meili's thoughts, and she was brought back to reality.

The rider stopped the ostrich horse and looked at Meili's cloaked figure, "I'm looking for Bato of the Water Tribe."

"I know him," she nodded.

"Make sure he gets this!" the messenger announced, handing the girl an intricate looking scroll with a Water Tribe insignia.

"It looks like a map," Meili concluded as she opened it up, glancing up from the map to look at the retreating figure of the ostrich horse.

Sometimes, Meili wished that she had been taught how to read. At the orphanage, she would 'read' books, though to her, that meant looking at the pictures and deducing what the characters on the page were saying. Most of the time, she would actually get Jai to read the pages for her. She tried so many times to learn how to read, but the symbols never seemed to make sense in her head.

She figured that her group would be able to read the map in the morning; the man riding the ostrich horse hadn't spoken with urgency. All Meili had to ensure was that Bato got the map that led to — well, wherever the map led to.

Meili walked onto the deck of the boat and exhaled slowly, stuffing the map into the pouch at her hip. The girl decided to camp out in the boat that night. The others wouldn't mind. Katara and Sokka would be catching up with their father's friend, and Aang would be doing who-knows-what. Besides, she could defend herself.

And with that, Meili fell asleep.

Approaching footsteps woke Meili up the next morning, and the black-haired girl sat up to see her group and Bato approaching. It was daybreak, just early enough that the sun's rays hadn't quite passed over the ocean's horizon. The sky was pink, hued with oranges and reds.

"There she is!" Katara shouted, pointing up to the deck of the ship. "Meili where were you? We were all worried sick!"

"I slept up here," she replied, cocking her head to the side. "Is that not allowed?"

"You should have told us first!" Sokka replied angrily.

Bato laughed, placing a hand on each of the siblings' shoulders. "I'm sure she meant no harm. Come now, weren't we supposed to go ice dodging?"

"Ice dodging?" Meili questioned with a yawn, rubbing her eye to get rid of the crust gathered at the edges of her eyelids. "What's that?"

"It's a rite of passage for young Water Tribe members," Bato answered with a wise smile. "When you turn fourteen, your father takes you— You know what, you're about to find out!"

Meili rose up an eyebrow, "I am?"

"You all can!" Bato announced. "Think of it as a team trust exercise."

"Oh hey, before we go.." Meili stated, reaching into the bag on her back to get out the scroll. It would probably be easier for her to give Bato the map now.

"—can I lead?" Sokka interrupted Meili.

Bato laughed, "Yes, Sokka. You can."

Meili deadpanned as the two walked away, completely ignoring her.

The girl shrugged her shoulders, putting the scroll away. "Well, I guess I'll just give it to him after this.."

Meili got off of the helm of the ship and walked toward the front deck, taking her place next to her group members.

"Ice dodging is a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery, and trust. In our village, ice dodging was done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs."

"So isn't this technically rock dodging?"

"I guess you could be considered right, Katara."

Bato gestured out toward the sharp rocks protruding out from the water. "You will be dodging those. It will require everything that this ceremonial test demands."

"Sokka, you call the shots," Bato said, directing him toward the helm of the boat. "Lead wisely."

"Katara, you secure the main sail. The winds can be brutal, so be brave," he smiled as he handed Katara a rope that connected to the large sail pushing the boat along.

"Aang, you control the jib. Without your steady hand, we all go down. Your position is about trust," Bato stated, guiding Aang toward the front of the ship.

"And you, Meili, will steer," Bato smiled. "You will need to keep your eyes and ears open as you listen to Sokka's demands."

The cloaked-girl nodded, walking toward the ropes used to steer the ship.

"For this is to be done right, I cannot help," Bato stated, sitting cross-legged at the front of the boat. "You pass or fail on your own."

Sokka immediately jumped into action, holding onto the boast as he stared out at the ocean ahead of him. "Aang, ease up on the jib. Meili, steady. Katara, adjust."

The three followed his orders and the boat moved past a rock.

"Meili pull left. Aang, less sail. Katara, give him room."

The ship moved to the side and sailed between a few more rocks.

"Aang, helm to lee. Helm to lee!"

"What does that even mean?" Aang shouted in agitation, attempting to follow Sokka's orders.

The waves hit the side of the boat, knocking Bato around. Meili struggled to hold the ropes steady while Katara and Aang closed their eyes. The boat shakily passed by a few more rocks.

Sokka grinned, "Great job!"

Katara and Aang smiled while Meili let out a snide smirk.

A sudden blockade of huge, pointing rocks blocked the path that the group was traveling in. Everyone eyed the boulders in fear.

"There's no way through!" Katara shouted.

Sokka nodded confidently, "We can make it."

Bato stood up from his spot and placed a hand firmly onto Sokka's shoulder. "Sokka, you've already proven yourself. Maybe we should—"

"—Aang, I'm gonna need air in that sail. Katara, I want you to bend as much water as you can between us and those rocks. Meili, I need you to hold those ropes steady like your life depends on it! Now!"

Everyone nodded. Katara bended the water below the boat so that the ship was sitting on an artificial wave while Aang fired gusts of air into the sail. Meili mustered all the strength she could into her muscles as she yanked the ropes in her hand into place, holding them steady even as they attempted to throw her around. Sokka groaned nervously as the boat rose up over the rocks, clearing them with ease. When they reached clear water, everyone sighed and relaxed, pulling the boat over toward the shore once again.

Once back on land, Bato held up a pot of purple paint in his hand, making the kids all line up in a straight line. The Water Tribe elder dipped his finger into the paint, before holding it out toward Sokka's forehead.

"The spirits of water bear witness to these marks. For Sokka, the Mark of the Wise." A pause as he used his thumb to draw an arc and a small dot on Sokka's forehead. "The same mark your father earned."

He then moved over toward the boy's sister. "For Katara." A pause as he used his thumb to draw a crescent moon mark on Katara's forehead, "the Mark of the Brave. Your courage inspires us. "

He turned to Aang and drew an arc on his forehead. "For Aang, the Mark of the Trusted."

"And finally for Meili," he stated, drawing a circle with a dot underneath of it on her forehead — well, at least, he guessed her forehead—, "the Mark of the Dependable. Now, you are both honorary members of the Water Tribe."

Aang smiled, but Meili stared up.

She wasn't dependable. She had been lying to Aang and the Water Tribe siblings ever since she had joined their group. She couldn't be considered a member of the Water Tribe.. Not with the secrets she was carrying.

"Great, now that we're finished, let's go have some more sea prunes!" Sokka exclaimed. "I'm starving."

"All you care about is food," Katara deadpanned.

"Well, we ate breakfast a while ago," Aang said sheepishly. "And I don't think Meili ate either."

The cloaked-girl nodded her head, "I am kind of hungry."

"Well then it's decided!" Bato said with a clap. "But this time I'll prepare something other than our Water Tribe delicacies for our companions."

The group laughed, mostly at the disgusted face that Aang made as he thought about the sea prunes. Gathering up all of their items, the group made their way back to the abbey. The sky had leveled out to a low grey-blue, and the sky was overcast with rolling light grey clouds. Bato mentioned that the abbey routinely got rain, and a storm was probably on the way.

However, the group wouldn't have to worry about the storm inside of the hut Bato had made his home. They ate lunch quietly, but this time, they had a stew made from potatoes and carrots. Aang was thankful for the vegetarian option and even Meili was happy to eat something so hearty.

Katara noted that the group needed more provisions before they headed out. As much as the two Water Tribe siblings wanted to stay and hang out with Bato, they knew that traveling to the Northern Water Tribe was a pressing matter. So, she grabbed Meili, two baskets, and led the girl out to the forest where they could collect food.

"Would these berries be okay?" Katara questioned, holding up a small, oblong, purple berry.

"That's an azacur berry," Meili said dully.

"So… it is okay? Or isn't okay?"

"Its poisonous when eaten," Meili said, holding back laughter.

"Ha ha. Alright, so it's not _okay_."

Meili bent down, picking up a curved green plant instead. "This is a cucumber banana. It's pretty tart when it's not ripe, but by tomorrow it should be good to eat."

"Well, that sure beats poisonous berries," Katara laughed. "Help me load up on these cucumber bananas then."

The two girls removed the fruit from the vines they were growing on, dusting off the dirt and debris on top before plopping it into the basket.

"it must be nice to see Bato again," Meili noted lowly, wrapping her fingers around one of the fruits before plucking it off.

"Yeah, it is," Katara smiled. "He's been best friends with our dad for as long as I can remember. I wish that they didn't have to leave so soon."

Meili paused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, last night, Bato was telling us how he's about to get a map to the location of our dad's fleet. They'll be leaving soon after that."

"Oh," Meili said quietly, closing up her basket.

"Yeah," Katara said lowly. "Let's take these over to the river to wash them off."

"Sounds good," Meili nodded, following after the girl.

The two walked in silence, the only sound were their crunching footsteps and the sound of the crashing river in the distance.

"I can't imagine how hard it must be to say goodbye to family," Meili mumbled out. "I mean, Jai is like my little brother, and leaving him was so hard. But… I couldn't imagine leaving my father or mother."

Katara cleared her throat. "It's definitely hard. The only piece of my mother I had left was her necklace, and now that's gone. And my dad's so far away — I miss them both. So much."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot about your mom," Meili apologized.

Katara wiped away a tear. "It's okay. I know you didn't mean to."

The two settled into a peaceful silence again, approaching the small riverbank rolling through the forest. It was crystal clear with small fish and snails swimming around the bottom.

Meili and Katara bent down, resting on their knees at the foot of the riverbed. The two girls began washing the fruit in the passing water, cleaning off the dirt and bugs still residing on the surface.

Katara sighed. "It's just — Bato said that we could leave with him and his fleet. Sokka and I could see our father again. It's been two years."

"He did?" Meili asked, pausing in her movements. The cold water flowed between her fingers before she resumed washing. "Well, that's nice. It would be great to see your father again."

"But that's just it… should we go?" Katara questioned. "I feel like we'd be abandoning Aang and you. And I feel like our lives are intertwined with helping Aang save the world. I know I couldn't go. But, Sokka wants to."

"Ponytail wants to leave?"

Katara nodded. "He's old enough now. If we were back at home, he would've been sent with the others. He feels like this is his chance to prove himself to Dad."

"But he's not really going to go though, right? There's no way Ponytail would just leave."

"Well, not until we get the map. But he's already been packing up his stuff."

Meili looked at the cucumber banana in her hand, looking at the bright green-yellow skin. She used her nails to scrape off a patch of dirt. "Oh. So once you guys get the map, that's it?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'll miss him but — I can't tell him what to do anymore."

Meili stared at the water, and her reflection shimmered back at her through the current. It's not like she would care if Sokka left; there would be a lot less arguing throughout their journey. But… she didn't know why the thought of him leaving made her chest feel so heavy. Maybe it was her sickness still lingering in her veins, or maybe the potato stew wasn't settling right.

Meili knew, though, that if Bato got the map in her bag, Sokka would be gone for good. And that thought alone was unnerving.

Walking back to the hut, Meili felt her conscience wavering. It was such a selfish thing to think, but she wanted to keep the map to herself. She didn't want Sokka to leave. Not because she would miss him, but because Aang and Katara definitely would.

She was tired of people leaving. Meili didn't want anyone else to go.

Sitting around the cooking pot in the center of Bato's hut later that night, Meili found herself reserved. Sokka and Katara were laughing about how their father had placed an octopus on his head and convinced their Gran-Gran that he was a water spirit.

"Any day now, we should be getting that message from your father," Bato spoke with a mouthful of sea prune. "I'm not sure when word arrives, but when it does, we'll be able to take off."

"Are you excited, Sokka?" Aang questioned.

"It's gonna be so incredible to see Dad again. And everyone else."

Katara rose up an eyebrow, "Just make sure you don't eat too many seaweed wraps. You _know_ what those do to your stomach."

Sokka blushed, "H-hey! I can't help that seaweed makes me gassy!"

The group laughed, and Meili sighed, looking at the animal skins and fur pelts littering the wall.

"What's wrong, Meili?" Aang asked the girl quietly, separating himself from the group. "You've been quiet all night. Is something the matter?"

"It's nothing, Avatar."

"It's _something_ ," he pressed, leaning in closer. Momo on his shoulder chattered and clicked as if to agree with him.

"Avatar," Meili spoke, and the monk thought it almost sounded like a plead. "Please, just leave me alone."

Momo jumped off of the boy's shoulder and onto Meili's head, but the monk obliged and left Meili to her thoughts. Was she wrong for keeping the map from them? She knew that they would need it eventually; Bato and the rest of the group had to meet up with Katara's father. But how could she give him the map without Sokka finding out?

She threw her head into her hands, wrapping her fingers in her hair. Before she met the Avatar and his companions, she would have held no qualms about whether or not to keep the map. Whatever was in her best interest was all that mattered. So, why was this troubling her so much?

Meili found herself unable to sleep that night, and she was tossing and turning in her sleeping bag unable to get comfortable. She was awake the whole night. And once she saw the smallest gleam of sunlight protruding from underneath the hut's door, Meili knew she had to get some air. Finally, sick and tired of flailing around in her cot, she got up and exited the hut.

For the first time in a long time, she was angry. She coughed into the crook of her arm, gritting her teeth and seething. She shouldn't even be _thinking_ about the morality of her actions. Whiteflash of the Freedom Fighters, she wouldn't even think _twice_. What changed?

"Meili, is everything okay?" a voice spoke up, and Meili turned around to see Aang peeking his head outside of the door. "I heard you get up pretty fast…"

"I'm fine," she growled out, and she didn't miss the wince in Aang's eyes at her harsh tone. "I mean — I'm fine, Avatar. Thank you for checking up on me, but it wasn't necessary."

"Okay," he said, not seeming too convinced. "Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

Meili let out a sigh as she heard the door close once more. Knowing that she would not find any solace in front of the hut, the girl found herself wandering back toward the ocean shore. The Water Tribe ship still stood in all of its glory, docked at the shore from their previous rock dodging trip. She boarded it once more, finding refuge and relief at the helm of the ship.

She sat in the silence, taking in the beauty of the waves and the water crashing along the beach. She coughed quietly, shaking her head of her thoughts. She shouldn't feel guilty. This was for the good of the group. Without Sokka, Katara would be less animated, more mopey, and less enthused to teach Aang waterbending. That would hurt his abilities to perform as the Avatar.

It wasn't because she would _miss_ him or any weird stuff like that. Who would even miss that dorky kid with his stupid little ponytail?

She watched the sun rise over the shore, letting out a low breath.

"Hey!" a voice suddenly yelled, making the black-haired girl turn in her spot abruptly.

Approaching the boat was a scowling Sokka, with a frantic and frazzled Aang and Katara following behind. Bato was also on their trail, hobbling behind as he held his injured torso.

"What's this?" the Water Tribe boy asked, holding up a rolled piece of parchment angrily. Meili squinted her eyes, trying to make out the contents of what he was holding until realization dawned on her. She reached for her pouch, realizing that she had forgotten to put it back on before leaving the hut. Which meant —

"This is the map to our father! And it was in your pouch the whole time? How could you!"

The Water Tribe boy stormed up the steps to the boat, though Aang was quick on his toes to pull the teen back.

"Sokka, just hold on! Let her explain."

"Explain what? How she lied to us? How she tried to keep this hidden?"

"Sokka," Katara stated softly. "I don't think she was trying to do that. Listen to Aang; let her explain."

They all grew quiet, perhaps expecting an answer. Aang's eyes seemed pleading, Katara's seemed hopeful. Like they didn't want what Sokka was saying to be true.

Meili turned away. "I… _was_ hiding it from you guys."

"I can't believe you would do something like this," Sokka said in anger, staring at the girl with his fist clenched. "You could've given this to Bato, but instead you stayed out here all by yourself! Do you know how much this map means to me?"

"I didn't know what it was for at first!" Meili shouted in agitation. "I was trying to do what was best for the group. You shouldn't be leaving."

"But, hiding it, Meili?" Katara voiced lowly. "There were so many other ways you could have communicated this to us. And being deceitful was the worst choice out of all of them."

"I don't need a lecture, Princess. I don't have to explain myself to anyone."

"That's exactly what someone like you would say," Sokka scowled. "A liar like you doesn't deserve to travel with us."

Aang rose up his hands, "Woah, Sokka, maybe we should talk about this more. I'm sure she has a reason for hiding it."

"No," Sokka said angrily. "She lied to us. She kept this map from Katara and me.. a map that told us where our father is.." Sokka paused as he looked down. "This was my big chance to prove myself to Dad; it could all be messed up now because of her."

And suddenly, Meili's heart stopped. The dreams from those cold nights many weeks ago played back in her head.

' _A liar like you doesn't deserve to be friends with people like us.'_

' _Liar.'_

' _I never did trust you.'_

Her world suddenly came crashing down.

He was right; she couldn't stay with them. What she was hiding from them— if they found out, they would leave her anyways. It would be easier to part with them now. It would save her the heartache.

Meili slowly backed away from the people that she grew to call friends, toward the back of the ship facing the ocean. She stared at them with sadness — fear. She knew that only Aang would see.

Or maybe Katara and Sokka would be able to see her frowning lips, but it didn't matter now. She gritted her teeth in anger, letting out a low tsk before jumping over the ship. She swam away toward the shore, ran through the sand and to the forest. She ran away from the call for her to come back. Away from the hope of a new life. Away from the pain of having to lie every day.

And suddenly, Meili felt like she was that ten-year-old little girl again sitting in despair in the orphanage — watching a child walk through the wooden doors hand-in-hand with a young couple. She felt desolate… alone… ashamed. She ignored the tear slipping down her cheek as she disappeared into the wilderness.

* * *

In the shadows of the forest surrounding the abbey, the two shadows lurked dangerously.

"She's leaving with her brother and the Avatar in a few moments.."

"I know , I know.. We will wait until sun down. Wait until she's alone. They won't suspect a thing.."

* * *

"I'm an idiot," Meili muttered to herself, throwing her face into her hands. "Spirits help me.. why am I so dumb?"

The girl let out a deep sigh as she tugged her cloak off of her head, letting her black locks tumble out and fall around her. The length easily provided the girl with some warmth as she tugged her legs close to her body. It was chilly in the forest by the seashore, the cool wind erupting from underneath the crashing of waves. However, it felt good against her heated skin.

She should've known better than to grow close to them. They all probably thought she was a low-life criminal. A liar.

She sat for what seemed like hours, analyzing her actions. Meili replayed her interactions with the group, thinking of the different outcomes that could have arisen if she had just been honest. But in the past, it was this honesty that had caused her greatest mar. Her naivety, her trusting nature, caused her pain and suffering. She remembered the screams, the cries, the smell of burning flesh.

It was all too overwhelming, the memories of her past. She tried so desperately to push everything back; she wanted to forget. But the look of disappointment on Sokka's face, reminded her so much of _that man_. She felt nauseous, the bile churning in her throat, just aching to escape. And the flashbacks of fear and terror caused her stomach to contract so violently, she didn't even have time to hold back the vomit that escaped her mouth.

She fell over on her hands and knees, retching into the grass pieces of potatoes and carrots from the day before. Meili heaved and heaved, and each forceful hurl spewed out chunks of partially-digested, congealed bile. She was sweating, and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes once she was finished, her face blanched and sickly.

The girl fell back to her rear as she took a deep breath, wiping her mouth of the residual vomit dripping down the corners of her lips.

A small click and chatter made the girl look up, and Meili found herself staring into the eyes of Momo.

"How did you find me here?" Meili questioned, her voice still raspy from the recent expulsion from her stomach, looking the lemur in the eyes. Its beady orbs were wide with fright and anguish. Something was wrong. "What happened?"

Momo tugged at the cloth of Meili's cloak, signaling her to stand up. The lemur then began to fly away, leading the girl to where she was supposed to go. Meili pulled up her hood and followed.

They soon made it to the forest just outside the abbey, and the sounds of battle echoed in the air. Momo stopped suddenly as he sat on Meili's head.

"Where am I supposed to go now?"

Momo only chattered.

Meili groaned, scowling as she scanned the ground below off a cliff and toward a dirt pathway. Walking slowly, a large beast had Sokka and Katara situated on its back, and Aang was nowhere to be seen. The lady controlling the beast suddenly hopped off, pulling Sokka up by his ponytail before throwing him off of the large creature. She then proceeded to climb back on her pet and ride away, still carrying an unmoving Katara.

Meili stared in panic. Despite her leaving the group, and despite everything telling her to turn around, she couldn't just watch with complacency as her friend was being taken away.

Meili followed along the tree line, trying her best to keep up with the fast beast, but Meili found it hard with her hoarse throat.

The creature suddenly came to a stop, and the girl riding the beast got off once again. The girl shifted her weight into her left hip as she began talking to someone. Meili had to get closer.

After weaving her way through the forest, Meili finally made it to the outside of the clearing.

"I found the girl. I was lucky Angry Boy just happened to ask me to find her… I didn't know it would be the same person you guys sent me after."

"You are a rather lucky person, June," a mysterious voice purred. The man was shorter than average, but bulky and stocky. His eyes barely crinkled on the edges, and his unique, twisted mustache and sideburns indicated that he was highly ranked in the Fire Nation army.

"Okay, well, I held up my end of the deal, pay up," June replied impatiently, holding out her hand. Her palm was soon filled with gold. "Thanks again, boys."

"Our pleasure," a different voice stated. Meili couldn't see this man.

Katara was thrown off of June's beast and onto the forest floor, unable to move for some odd reason, but still able to look around.

"What do you want with me?" Katara questioned angrily, watching the girl on the beast ride away. "…Who are you?"

The man with the exotic facial hair bent down to her level, picking up a strand of hair that happened to come loose from her braid, "My name, sweetheart, is of no importance."

"Don't.. touch me," Katara said through gritted teeth.

The man sighed before standing up, "June said that her shirshu's paralysis lasts for a little over an hour. We should be fine for a few more minutes. Not like it'll matter by then, Jiayi. We'll have the Avatar by then."

The second man, who Meili now knew to be named Jiayi, came out from the shadows. He was a relatively good looking man with half of his long, brown hair twisted up into a bun. He was wearing the same armor as the other man, meaning that he was a part of the Fire Nation army as well. Jiayi threw up a lazy hand before walking away toward a tent, "Cheng, go ahead and tie her up."

Meili could see Katara watching the men with fright, but Meili could also see that the waterbender had been able to regain her movement back slightly. Meili didn't know what exactly had caused the paralysis, but she knew that Katara would soon be able to escape.

Meili moved quietly over to where Katara was sitting, attempting to think of some way to get the girl out of her predicament. Whatever the men had in mind for Katara, Meili knew that it wasn't.

"Katara," Meili whispered slightly, trying to gain her attention without disturbing the men. However, Katara didn't seem to hear her.

"Ka-ta-ra," Meili said again, and this time the brunette's head clicked to attention. The Water Tribe girl turned with wide, happy eyes, recognizing the white cloak instantly. She was being rescued.

"I knew you would come back for us," Katara said happily, turning her head to look over at the men.

"Can you get to your water?" Meili questioned, earning a side-to-side head shake from the waterbender.

"That woman's shirshu paralyzed us; I can't really move. I just started to get some feeling back."

Meili had to think fast, but she didn't know what she could do to help the waterbender. Being paralyzed with little movement meant that Katara wouldn't be able to do much defensively. But if she was free of the paralysis just long enough to stumble away, Meili could jump in and buy the girl some time.

The man returned and Katara's eyes widened as she watched him saunter closer. Meili grit her teeth.

"We've been following you guys for a while now," the man grinned as he approached, the rope twirling menacingly in his long, white fingers.

Katara's face remained passive, no doubt trying to look brave. But Meili could see it in her eyes, the way they darted to and fro: Katara was scared. Scared that she wouldn't make it out alive. Scared that she would never see her brother or father again. Scared that she would never see _Aang_ again.

But luckily, it was Meili who came to save the day. For the past few years, her job had been to outsmart and takedown Fire Nation soldiers. Out of everyone that could have come to her rescue, Meili was the most familiar with these types of men.

"It took us a while to get you away from your brother and the Avatar. It was just our luck that the boy with the cloak all but disappeared. We believed that he had noticed our presence."

Meili moved in her spot, quiet enough to not be heard, and maneuvered around the bushes in front of her to camouflage her existence. Fire Nation armor, while extremely durable and combat-crafted, had one weak spot: the back of the knees. In order to provide mobility, the armor had to be missing in that one spot. Luckily for Meili, it was just the answer.

The man bent down over Katara's form, "My friend Jiayi and I are a part of this group called the Kǎoshēng. You know, girl, we're good Fire Nation soldiers — quite obedient and loyal. So, when we found out just who the Avatar was traveling with, well... we couldn't just leave him be," Cheng pulled on Katara's braid so that her face was pointed up toward his own. "We'll just say that you're pretty lucky."

"You're using me to get to Aang?" the girl said in disbelief.

"Aang.. so that's the Avatar's name," Cheng said, letting go of the girl's hair. He looked pointedly down at Katara. "You're lucky we need you alive, girl. If we didn't need you as ransom, well.. I would've killed you already."

And then suddenly, his cry filled the air. He immediately moved to grab the back of his leg, which now had a small dagger lodged in the armor-less pit.

Katara scrambled backwards with as much mobility as she could, watching the man stumble back in his place to try and regain his footing. Meili leapt out from the trees and helped Katara stand up since the girl was still a little wobbly from the paralysis.

"Go to your brother and Aang!" Meili called, looking Katara in the eyes. "I'll hold them off!"

"You, you can't do that by yourself!" Katara spoke, turning around to see Jiayi come out of the tent, weapon in hand.

"That wasn't a request — it was an order," Meili stated, throwing Katara toward the direction of the abbey. "Tell everyone I'm sorry, and that I didn't mean to lie to them."

Katara was wobbly, but she nodded her head begrudgingly and hobbled away.

Momo chittered in Meili's ear as she turned toward the two men. Cheng was crying out in pain on the ground as Jiayi walked over to examine him. Jiayi chuckled slightly as he pulled the dagger from his partner's leg, throwing the weapon away as if it was nothing.

"You're weak, Cheng."

Said man glared up at Jiayi with distasteful eyes.

"So.. little cloak boy decided to show up after all," the muscle man grinned, cracking his knuckles so loud that it echoed in the air. "We'll beat you to a pulp and then go get that girl back. She can't get too far with that paralysis. I hope you know that you're sacrificing yourself for nothing. Who would care about a runt like you anyway?"

Meili stood her ground, staring straight ahead as her cloak blew in the wind, "I was given the Mark of the Dependable."

Jiayi and Cheng both rose up an eyebrow.

Meili didn't falter.

"My friends are relying on me, now, to protect them, so I must do everything in my power to keep them safe."

Meili reached up to her hood, "So if that means sacrificing myself."

She grabbed the fabric, "or revealing myself."

She yanked the hood off, "..or putting myself in danger…"

She stared the men straight into their eyes, holding out her hands as she lunged in preparation to strike. Golden flames licked at her fingertips as her palms were suddenly covered in warm, molten fire. "Then so be it!"

* * *

A/N: Hi loves! This is easily the longest chapter, but I think it adds some much needed depth to Meili and her character. Thank you to all who are reading and reviewing; it means the world 3 Happy reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Katara stumbled her way through the trees, running as fast as her wobbly legs would move. The abbey. That was all she was focused on right now.

She could smell the perfume in the air. She could taste the aroma on her lips. She was close.

Then she saw Appa, and the giant bison was holding Sokka and Aang inside of his saddle. Her brother hopped off of the furry creature in quick haste, running over to his sister in vehement relief before enveloping her in a tight hug. The girl pulled away from the embrace after the moment of reuniting, opening up her mouth to speak hoarse, out-of-breath words.

"She's attacking them! She – she pushed me away and told me to find you guys— she.. I don't know what she's doing! They're looking for Aang, and they'll kill for him. They'll _kill_ her—"

"Katara.. what are you saying?" Aang spoke, hopping off of Appa as well. "Who is being attacked?"

"Meili!" the girl said with wide eyes. "The June girl.. she took me to these two men that hired her just like Zuko did, and – and they said they were going to use me to get to Aang. But Meili came and saved me, and she ran out and attacked them. They're two full-grown men.. she _can't_ stop them! And they'll capture her! And then .. after that they'll _kill_ her!"

"Woah, Katara, slow down," Sokka stated, placing both of his hands on her shoulders. "What do you mean? You'll be used for what?"

Katara looked away from her brother, "I was supposed to be used for ransom.. so that Aang would save me — and come to _them_. So that Aang would be captured! And be taken to the Fire Lord!"

"You were going to be used as leverage against Aang?" Sokka clarified.

Katara nodded her head. "But.. but Meili— she's taking them on all by _herself_. They'll kill her, and then they'll come looking for me again. You and Aang will be hurt, and it'll be all my fault—"

Aang tilted his head, "This isn't your fault, Katara. Those men are after _me_. It's my fault you were captured, and now Meili's in danger because of _me_ …"

"Aang," Katara stated solemnly, looking the Avatar and her brother in the eyes. "She.. before I left, she told me that she didn't mean to lie. I think she was going to risk her life to save us. She knows she's not strong enough to beat them," Katara trailed off, her watery eyes turning to gaze at her brother. "Sokka..."

"You don't think that she would put herself in danger like that to save us. She wouldn't risk her life…" he looked Katara in the eyes, "would she…?"

Katara looked away, remembering the dutiful look in Meili's eyes before the waterbender hobbled away to go find her brother and Aang, ".. Yes."

Aang frowned, "Well, I don't know about you two, but we have to go save Meili. Now!"

Sokka scowled, determination set firmly into his brow. "Katara, take me to where you last saw Meili."

The brunette waterbender nodded her head.

* * *

The chiseled man ducked down underneath of an incoming fireball, unsheathing his sword out from its holder before shielding himself away from the approaching flames. The smaller man beside him yelped as the flames singed his beard, and he fell down in a heap of fright.

Jiayi scowled crossly.

The stupid _girl_ was a firebender. A skilled one at that. Her white cloak wavered in the wind behind her as the balls of garnet flames flew toward him again. They whipped and flew out in tendrils of unfathomable heat. But Jiayi was a warden. He may not have been a firebender, but he had some damn good experience with them.

The man could tell that this girl had not used firebending in a while — her moves were too jolty and uniform. Her stamina was okay, but her stances she took before shooting the fire seemed unfamiliar to her. Self-taught. And her chi felt weak.

What a dumb girl.

Then Jiayi dodged another incoming whip of heat, watching the girl move her body with ease. Her hips turned. Her legs bent in quick, flexible movements. Jiayi grinned. This girl was traveling with the Avatar for quite some time. He didn't think that the monk would leave one of his comrades, even if it _was_ a firebending girl with an ugly scar running down her face.

"Change of plans, Cheng," Jiayi called to his partner, looking over at the man dodging the flames in cowardice. "Forget the waterbender. Get the girl."

The flying lemur on top of Meili's head, which had yet to move from his spot, let out a little click of a warning. Though the black-haired girl didn't know exactly what the lemur was talking about, she knew it was a sign of caution.

Jiayi slashed his sword toward the girl, and the firebender had to roll out of the way as she pulled out a dagger. Not the optimal weapon, but she blocked an attack with it nonetheless.

However, the girl was finally starting to run out of energy, and her body was growing weak from her sickness. Her throat was burning hoarsely from the residual vomit and her chest was tight with anxiety. Meili grit her teeth in seething realization, obstructing another blow with her dagger before shooting out a wave of fire from her right hand. Except her left hand holding her dagger was suddenly pushed up and shoved behind her back.

The twisting of her limb sent a wave up pain up Meili's arm, and she gasped out in pain as she fell down to her knees. As she tried to stand back up, the tip of Jiayi's sword pressed menacingly into her throat. Looking around, she saw herself become surrounded by a dozen Fire Nation men, outnumbering her easily.

"Don't move, or you'll wish you hadn't."

Meili gritted her teeth, and her body shook in anger.

She was defeated. She looked up into the air as she watched Momo fly away, and cold metal stung her skin as rope cuffs wrapped around her tiny wrists. She was captured now. She couldn't save them. She didn't protect her friends.

She lied to them once again.

* * *

"Are you sure this was where it happened, Katara?"

"I swear — we were right here.. And the tent was set up over by those trees —oh my spirits.. What if she's dead!"

"Katara," Sokka spoke lowly. "Everything will be fine — we'll find her."

Aang nodded his head with a closed-eye smile. "Let's look around for clues."

The three of them then split up, though Katara was looking around shakily.

Sokka couldn't stop thinking about how this was all his fault. If he had never yelled at Meili for hiding his dad's location, then she would've been there with them still. She wouldn't have been separated from them.

"Over here!" Aang shouted, crouching down by a bush. Katara was immediately on the move, hovering next to Aang to see what he had discovered. There was a singed branch, with burnt leaves covering the forest floor.

"Oh, spirits," Katara whimpered, falling down to the ground with tears pooling hotly at the corners of her eyes. "They attacked her with their firebending."

Sokka scowled, looking around the terrain for any sign of Meili. He had to apply his dad's tracking skills. It was now or never.

He moved away from the singed bush, looking around where Katara had said the tent was positioned. Sokka could still see the indentation in the dirt of where the pegs had been hammered down. The men weren't stupid enough to clean that up.

"Look over here, guys," Sokka stated lowly, crouching down to the ground. There was dirt and grass disturbances at one of the peg's location, most likely where the tent had been folded back up at. Little did the Fire Nation soldiers know, it was the key to finding out where they went. "See the straight line through the grass over there? They most likely put up the tent and pulled it behind them."

"It's headed northeast," Aang announced, airbending up from his spot on the ground. "Toward the huge lake in the center of the forest Bato was talking about!"

Sokka nodded his head swiftly, getting up from his crouch to stand up proudly. From his back pocket, he grabbed out his boomerang. "Let's go!"

The two Water Tribe members and the Avatar swiftly began their descent through the forest, weaving their way through the branches and trees as they ran quickly to their destination. Most of them were still a little tired from their previous fight with Prince Zuko, but Sokka wasn't thinking about that now. He still felt guilty, and this guilt was the only thought pounding in his head.

Appa trailed behind them as Aang led the way, the Avatar sitting on top of a ball of propelling air. Suddenly, however, he dispersed the air and floated to the ground. Katara and Sokka both stopped running through the forest, catching their breath as they watched Aang hold up his hand. Then, from the canopy of leaves above, Momo flew down and landed on Aang's forearm.

He chittered and clicked, the lemur's tongue moving to communicate with Aang. The airbender nodded his head, dropping down his arm as Momo climbed on top of his shoulder. "Momo was with Meili when she was taken, he's going to lead the way!"

No sooner did the lemur hop off of his owner's shoulder and take flight into the sky.

Following the lemur made Sokka feel even guiltier. _He_ had been the one to lead them into this mess, and now he couldn't even save the day. If only he hadn't overreacted— even though Meili had lied to them — they would be back on their way to the Northern Water Tribe. He had just been so caught up in his emotions, always feeling useless and incapable... Like when his father wouldn't let him go out for war. So he just snapped. He didn't realize that Meili was actually human and not just some sarcastic, white-cloaked monster.

He forgot that she had feelings, and he had no right to blow up on her like he did.

Momo stopped after a few minutes of gliding, flapping his limbs before landing once again on Aang's arm. He chittered and chattered things that Sokka couldn't decipher before Aang scowled with determination.

"We need to inspect the campsite first before we go in there," Aang spoke, careful to keep his voice just barely above a whisper.

"Let me," Sokka said with determination, dropping into a lunge as he stealthily stalked over to the bushes at the edge of the forest. He ducked behind the foliage, glancing over the leaves.

The first thing that greeted his vision was a bustling Fire Nation camp, their white tents pitched high and mighty as the Nation's emblem adorned the side, the symbol painted in a bright blood red. There were soldiers on outpost, and one man standing in the center of the camp. Sokka presumed him to be the leader.

The man glanced around with an air of confidence, but paused as a sound of clashing metal was heard from inside of a tent. Sokka scowled his eyes as he saw a shorter man with a strange mustache and beard came stumbling out, holding a hand up to his face to put out a small flame beginning to singe his mustache.

"Cheng, you imbecile," the man in the center of the camp said distastefully. "What part of stay quiet do you not understand?"

"It's not me, Jiayi, it's her!" the shorter man all but whined. "She's crazy and won't sit still! This is her third time trying to escape already."

"Just — keep her in line," Jiayi grunted, crossing his arms. "The Avatar should be here soon enough."

Sokka pulled back from his observing to look back at Aang and Katara. His sister was a little better, and she wasn't as shaky as she was before. Aang was ready and eager to invade the camp, even though it was exactly what the men wanted.

"They have her hostage, I know that," Sokka spoke in a hushed voice, moving over to his two teammates. "They're waiting for Aang to come, so we can always sneak around the back and save Meili without getting caught. The less interaction we have with the Fire Nation geeks, the better."

"But, how are we supposed to do that without being seen?" Katara questioned.

"I haven't quite figured that out yet," Sokka said vehemently, his voice cracking slightly, "but all I know is that we have to do _something_."

"I could distract them," Aang suggested. "They want me, right? If I come out and attack them, you and Katara can sneak around and rescue Meili."

"And then we can all get on Appa and escape!" Sokka agreed, nodding his head. "Alright, just wait for my cue then, Aang. Katara and I will head over there now."

The young airbender nodded his head in return, positioning himself where Sokka had just been watching the clearing earlier.

The two Water Tribe members then began their descent around the brink of the forest, silently wading their way through the trees until they were behind the tent that Cheng had walked out of just moments ago. Sokka looked around his surroundings, noticing that the lake was now only a few yards away from them. Lightly tapping Katara's shoulder, the girl looked over at her brother before setting her sights on the water beside them. She smirked, nodding her head.

Then Sokka gave Aang the cue.

In a flashy display of air, Aang came swirling like a vortex into the center of the clearing, immediately knocking out a few of the unprepared Fire Nation soldiers. As they fell down, their armor crashed against the forest floor in a loud bang. The leader was immediately on defense, turning until he was facing the young monk.

"So the Avatar finally shows himself," the man smirked, reaching across his body to grab the sword attached to his hip.

"Let my friend go!" Aang yelled, stabbing his glider down onto the ground.

"You really care about that worthless, little runt?" Jiayi grinned. "Should've thought about that before you tried to ambush us."

A moment later, Sokka and Katara were pushed into the clearing, Sokka falling face first into the dirt with a loud grunt. Katara was immediately on her feet, turning her wrists so that she could bend the water from the lake. Aang scowled with determination, twisting his glider so that it was straight out in front of him before slashing a gust of wind toward Jiayi. And amidst all of the commotion, Sokka wove his way underneath of slinging swords and balls of flames, hastily making his way toward the tent Meili was being held captive in.

Just as he was about to enter, however, a sword came slashing out from the inside of the tent, and Sokka had to duck, barely missing the blade that surely would've sliced off his neck. The wider man named Cheng then stepped out, holding his weapon steadily.

"Heh, dumb little boy. You think you can just take back our leverage over the Avatar? You're not even a bender, just a snot-nosed kid."

Sokka grit his teeth, memories of his young, incapable self played in his mind. His uselessness as he watched his father sail away to war.

Then, the Water Tribe boy let out a war cry, dashing forward heroically with his boomerang held up high. Metal clashed against metal as the boomerang pushed the sword backward. Cheng tsked as he switched his footing, turning to attack Sokka once again.

The boy dodged the attack by twisting his torso out of the way, flicking his wrist so that his boomerang went flying around the clearing.

"Heh, you missed, kid!" Cheng shouted. "It's lights out for you now!"

And then right as the sword was about to come crashing down, the boomerang flashed back around in a silver blur, hitting Cheng's helmet and sending him down to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Sokka grinned, kissing the cold metal of his weapon, "Aw, boomerang, I love you!"

He then slipped the weapon back inside of its carrier, moving around Cheng's body in a hurry. He speedily stepped inside the tent, his eyes searching for his companion. However, he was greeted with something else.

A girl… trying to rob the tent?

But, where was Meili?

Sokka blinked his eyes as he saw the girl hunched over a chest, searching desperately for something. Ropes of what used to presumably be her handcuffs were singed and burned, lying twisted on the floor.

Her hair was black as coal, the top half gathered into a ponytail that cascaded down her back in messy waves. The front of her hair was pulled into two braids that should've fallen over her shoulders and down her torso but were now hovering over the inside of the chest she was searching through.

"Uh, hello?" Sokka said hesitantly, reaching a hand out to touch the girl's shoulder.

But before he could touch her, her hand reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"Help me find it," her voice spoke, and Sokka thought that the voice sounded familiar, though it sounded painful and strained.

The girl turned around to face Sokka, and his heart stopped as his gaze focused on seafoam-colored eyes. They held a look of anguish, fear, but were too captivating for him to look away. The girl, barely reaching his shoulders, looked vulnerable and scared, her faintly-pink lips parted open, wavering ever so slightly. And then her bangs cascaded over her face, falling just above her arched eyebrows pointed down in what Sokka believed now to be anger.

He was entranced by this beautiful girl, her fair skin translucent and glowing underneath the rays of sun penetrating through the tent walls. But what really stood out the most was the scar running down the right side of her face.

It was a soft pale pink, much like the color of her own pouted lips, and contrasted the sweet green color of her eyes. Her rosy cheeks seemed undisturbed by the scar puckering along her skin, a mark seemingly carved by the spirits.

"Never mind, I'll find it myself," she spoke roughly, interrupting Sokka from his thoughts as she slammed his wrist down. He blinked as he saw her tipping over bins and baskets, until her fingers met smooth, white material.

"Sokka!" a voice suddenly called from outside, and the Water Tribe boy looked outside of the tent to see Aang and Katara seated on top of Appa. "Grab Meili and let's go! I tied that guy up, but I don't know how long it'll hold him!"

Sokka held a look of confusion as his eyes traveled over to the girl inside of the tent with him, watching her fasten a broach on her chest before throwing a white hood over her head, blocking out all view of the girl underneath.

Wait… that girl was Meili?

"C'mon, Ponytail," she muttered underneath of her breath, grabbing onto his wrist again before running out of the tent. The girl grabbed ahold of Katara's hand being extended out to her, and was then lifted up into the saddle of the huge sky bison. Sokka landed in the saddle with an 'oof', rubbing his head slightly as he looked down at the camp they started to fly away from.

Everyone let out a small breath of air as the impending doom looming over them was finally gone. Katara, who was shaken up by the whole ordeal, immediately reached across Appa's saddle and flung herself around Meili.

"I can't believe that you're alright!" the waterbender cried out. "But don't you _ever_ do something stupid like that again!"

"I saved you, didn't I?" the girl mumbled out. "… I had to do _something_."

"Thanks, Meili," Aang smiled, turning his head from the skies stretching out in front of them. "That was really brave of you."

Then, both the airbender and waterbender looked pointedly over at Sokka.

" _What_?" he screeched out, crossing his arms as he looked out into the skies lazily.

"Aren't you going to _apologize_?" Katara spoke out harshly.

Sokka's gaze fell to his lap. "Oh, yeah… Sorry, Meili. For getting mad at you…"

"It's okay," she spoke quietly. "I deserved it, honestly. I deceived you guys."

"Why didn't you just tell us the truth?" Katara questioned.

Aang nodded. "Yeah, you could've just told us that you didn't want Sokka to leave."

Meili blushed, and was thankful that it was hidden behind her cloak. "That is not the reason! I would never miss this.. this gross.. half-ponytailed.. _thing_."

"It's a warrior's wolf tail," Sokka pouted.

"Regardless," Meili waved off nonchalantly, "I just knew that we would be less productive as a team with Sokka gone. It was purely strategic, although I see how it could have come across as selfish in a way."

"Next time just tell us that," Aang said.

"Yeah, because even though Sokka wanted to go, we both know that Aang needs us more. Especially if people like those from the Kǎoshēng are looking for him," Katara spoke with a downcast look in her eyes.

"He's the Avatar," Sokka grinned, "and as much as I want to see Dad, we have other family to look after now."

Aang looked around, a sly look in his eyes. "I wish I could give you a little piece of home, Katara. Something to remind you of your family."

Katara shrugged, "I'll be okay."

"Still, just a little trinket. Maybe something like ..." the monk paused, pulling out a small, blue necklace from inside of his shirt, "this?"

Katara's face lit up, and the girl quickly took the necklace from Aang. "How'd you get this?"

"Zuko asked me to be _sure_ I got it to you."

"Aw, that's so sweet of Zuko. Could you give him a kiss for me when you see him?"

Aang grinned. "Sure."

Katara kissed Aang on the cheek. It was chaste, quick, but still made the monk flash bright red nonetheless.

"I really missed seeing the Crowned Prince again?" Meili spoke.

"He attacked us in the abbey just shortly after you left," Katara filled the girl in, clasping the necklace around her throat. "He had hired June and used the scent of my necklace to track me."

"Then, how did Cheng and Jiayi track you?" Meili questioned. "They had to have had your scent then... somehow."

"That _is_ creepy," Katara said aloud, and paused before speaking again. "We need to be more cautious. It was so easy for them to sneak up on us like that. And not only do we have to worry about them, but also Zhao and Zuko."

"Man, Fire Nation people are weird," Sokka said lazily, laying back in the saddle.

But immediately after reclining back, Meili punched the boy in the shoulder a second later.

"Ow! What was that for?" he winced.

She turned away from him, and he could barely see her lips from underneath of her cowl. "Don't you ever just sit there and stare at me like that again. Gah, Ponytail, you idiot… You could've helped me find my cloak instead of standing there _gaping_ at me."

"Wait — Sokka got to see you without your cloak?" Katara stated disbelievingly.

Meili huffed, crossing her arms as she leaned backward, "It wasn't like I had a _choice_."

"That's no fair!" the Water Tribe girl fake whined, though a smile ghosted over her lips. "Now Aang and I are the only ones that don't know what you look like."

"Well.." Aang trailed off, rubbing a hand behind his neck, "actually, Katara, I know what Meili looks like, too."

"Wh _at_?" Katara screeched, this time in seriousness. "You mean, I'm the only one that doesn't know? When are you going to show me?"

Meili moved out of the way as Katara almost tackled the girl, attempting to rip the cloak from her head. "Agh, Princess, get off of me!"

Aang smiled as he saw the two girls arguing, setting his sights back to the sky in front of him, his route headed north.

Sokka also returned his gaze out to the skies around him as he fought back a blush, now trying to convince himself that he did not find Meili attractive. She was not the beautiful girl with bright, green eyes and glossy black hair that he saw inside that tent.

She just wasn't.

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A/N: Hi beautiful people :) I want to thank everyone who has reviewed and supported my story through follows and favorites, it truly means a lot ! I've been working a lot and taking. few summer classes, so I've been slow on updating. But I hope this gives you a little more insight as to where this story is headed .

Thank you CopyCat25 for your kind words in your review; I'm glad you are enjoying the story. See you guys soon xoxoxo


	9. Chapter 9

The afternoon was quiet, save for the rustling of the autumn leaves in the cold wind. Aang was leading the way with Katara, talking to each other in low voices, their glances occasionally peeking back at their two other companions. Meili could hear their whispers, their hushed tones of concern, but found herself too annoyed to care.

It was the Water Tribe boy beside her causing her irritation: Since seeing her face and resuming their path north, he had barely spoken one word to her. Usually she wouldn't mind it if the boy was ignoring her, but for some reason, his face was set differently than normal. It was the subtle glances when he thought she couldn't see him, watching her — studying her. It was unnerving.

Aang and Katara didn't press on the topic, but seemed to be oddly interested in the lack of interaction between the two sarcastic teens.

Since the attack in the abbey and the kidnapping of Katara, the group of kids had stayed in the skies to avoid detection. All their traveling on foot must have led those men to them. And Aang didn't want to risk having any of his friends be put in danger again. So for the first time in three days, the group was traveling on foot. They were close to a conglomerate of Fire Nation colonies and didn't want to risk being seen and hunted down.

Meili found herself focused on the crunching of fallen leaves beneath her feet, watching the golden red foliage crackle and snap under her weight. Momo was perched on her shoulder, eating some kind of nut he had found from one of the forest trees. However, he seemed to be having a hard time opening up the shell. The cold air was making Meili's nose run, more than it had before, and so she sniffled futilely, knowing her sinuses would continue to drip regardless.

The group continued on for a few more hours in their unsettling silence, just until the day started to fade into scarlets and ambers. By then, the forest path had begun to taper into a small clearing. They were on the edge of a hillside overlooking a small Fire Nation town. The warm lights of the lanterns could be seen glowing in the distance, and the group found themselves stopping at a small roadside kiosk posted in the middle of the crossroads.

"Hm, this might help us figure out what's around here," Katara spoke, inspecting a few of the posters attached to the board.

"Or maybe where we even are," Sokka muttered.

Meili glanced over at the posters, seeing the intricate calligraphy painting the parchment. She had always thought that writing was beautiful: the way it looked on paper — the way the characters curved and twisted. She wished she understood it.

"Singhai," Meili replied hoarsely, pointing at one of the posters. "They're having a Fire Day's Festival."

Aang peered over her shoulder. "Wow! It says here that they have Fire Nation cultural exhibits, flame jugglers, magicians, and more... This would be a great place for me to study some real firebenders!"

"How did you know this place, Meili?" Katara questioned.

"Singhai is one of the most well-known Fire Nation Colonies here in the Earth Kingdom," Meili stated, grabbing the poster from the kiosk with both hands. "They've made it a priority for Earth Kingdom villages occupied by the Fire Nation to experience the Fire Day's Festival. They made us have one every year when I lived in Gaipan, and these posters were always plastered everywhere."

"So, would it help me learn firebending?" Aang questioned exuberantly.

"Maybe not learn, but it would help you look at firebending forms and techniques."

Sokka scoffed, "Fire, shmire. This isn't a good idea regardless, Aang. Look."

Then, the Water Tribe boy pointed toward another parchment. In faded ink, a wanted poster of the boy was etched into the paper.

Katara stared at the wanted poster, and beside Aang's were two more wanted posters: One they called the Blue Spirit, and the other one was Jet. "I think we better keep moving. Odds are if Jet is wanted, someone may know who Meili is too. Not to mention that we also have the Avatar with us."

"Katara," Aang pleaded, "I have to learn firebending at some point, and this could be my only chance to watch a master up close."

"At least without getting your head blown off," Meili quipped jokingly with a cough.

" _What_?" Sokka screeched. "You wanna walk into a Fire Nation town where they're all fired-up with their ... you know, fire? When you're a wanted criminal? This is what we've been trying to avoid ever since that run-in with those soldiers."

"If it looks like trouble, we can always leave," Katara stated. "Right, Aang?"

"And we can wear disguises!" the monk replied easily, pulling his orange shawl over his head with a grin.

"Very convincing," Sokka said dully. "But I hope you know that trouble always seems to find us. And it's usually an angry prince with a receding hairline."

Katara stared at her brother pointedly. "C'mon, Sokka, Aang just wants to look. He might even get to meet a master!"

Meili's head perked up at that.

No one had ever taught her how to firebend. Everything she learned had been self-taught over the course of several years. Even when she did bend, it wasn't something she liked to do. Meili would rather use daggers and knives than flames and fireballs.

Being from the Earth Kingdom, she was always taught to fear fire. It was destructive, harmful, and dangerous. Fire was a symbol of oppression; it was a symbol of the war. Meili, ever since she could remember, hated herself for being able to bend fire.

It had to do with... _that_ day.

Meili shook her head. No, she couldn't think about that. Not now.

But, her gaze was still drawn back down to the village, down to the lanterns and the fireworks and the warm rich reds of the Fire Nation flags. She was saddened to hate such a large part of who she was. She was sad to know that if Aang, Katara, and Sokka knew who she really was, they would leave.

Meili resumed her attention to her three companions beside her. There, the three of them were now adorning black cloaks, though Aang still wore a dorky grin.

"Hey, now we all look like Meili!"

"Ha ha," the black-haired girl replied back dully, beginning her decent down the clearing's path. "Let's hurry up before it gets too dark."

"Who made you the leader?" Sokka questioned.

"No one," Meili said pointedly. "But you guys are having a good ol' time over there doing nothing. Someone needs to lead the way."

And besides, she couldn't wait to see the festival. It was something that reminded her of home, a small glimpse back to Gaipan where her and Jai were still orphans. They used to love the festivals because it was the only time they were allowed to leave the orphanage.

But the anticipation was ruined by the burn in her throat and the warmth of her skin, both signs of her unresolved sickness. The symptoms had been dormant for a while, but Meili speculated that the strain of using her bending against Jiayi and Cheng may have halted her recovery.

She shook her head, hearing her three companions trekking on behind her. The town was located at the base of the mountain pass they had been traveling down previously. Meili noted that Singhai was a well-established Fire Nation colony — much more impressive in person than on parchment. It was one of the oldest pieces of land occupied by the Fire Nation, taken over just a few years after the fall of the Air Nomads.

Meili looked over to her right at the smiling monk, and she briefly wondered how he was so happy and joyous all the time. Surely he ached inside knowing that he was alone. They were similar in that regard. They both had no family, no home, no one to turn to... well, except for the two Water Tribe siblings.

But if Sokka was reacting this adversely just by merely knowing what she looked like, Meili knew the repercussions of the boy knowing her abilities as a firebender would be far graver.

They arrived at the town with, thankfully, no difficulties. Appa and Momo took refuge in the outskirts of the forest, told by Aang to stay out of sight. Walking toward the town, the guards positioned at the entrance of Singhai gave them no trouble, most likely expecting Earth Kingdom travelers to stop by and enjoy the heritage of the Fire Nation.

The town was bustling with people: Kids ran with streamers and sparklers, wearing strange masks adorned with rich colors and patterns; adult citizens were draped in red and mahogany cloth robes with gold trimming, most holding signature Fire Nation snacks and sweets; and the richer townspeople, characterized by their high buns and silken robes that gleamed orange from the illumination of the lanterns, stood on the outskirts in close knit circles. The group of travelers noted that their attire didn't quite match the theme of the function.

"We should purchase some masks," Meili stated monotonously, looking toward a group of revelers that were parading around in a giant dragon costume.

"I agree; we don't really look the part," Katara said softly, her gaze falling on the children just slightly younger than them. Their happy, grinning faces were hidden behind the masks.

Sokka rolled his eyes, "Yeah, everyone here looks stupid."

"Well, _I_ want one of those stupid masks!" Aang said gleefully, comically running toward a vendor selling fire festival garments.

Katara followed behind him, reaching into the bag on her back before pulling out some change. She exchanged her coins with the vendor and purchased four masks of different colors. Aang grabbed the blue mask from Katara, strapping it over his head within his hood as to not reveal his arrows. The face on the mask was contorted into an exaggerated smile and was powdered with pink chalk to make the cheeks rosy.

The girl lightly giggled into her cloak's sleeve before distributing out the rest of the masks. Meili's was green with golden swirls surrounding the border, and the face remained passive and unmoving like a statue. Sokka's mask was red with a scowl and frown while Katara's was yellow with an inviting smile.

"Why do _I_ get the grumpy-looking one?" Sokka questioned with a voice crack. His companions looked at him pointedly.

The group walked slowly around the town, looking at all the various vendors and pop-up stands there for the festival. Some sold trinkets and clothes, others were selling Fire Nation foods and treats.

"They have fire flakes over there, Ponytail," Meili pointed out, her finger falling on an older man with traditional sideburns and robes.

"Finally!" he shouted, his mouth watering at the thought of food. He quickly lifted up the mask and shoveled the food into his mouth, spitting it out a few moments later. "They're so hot!"

"They're flakes of jerky that have been cooked until its almost char; of course it's going to be hot," Meili said with an eyeroll, grabbing the bag from his hands before lifting up slightly her mask and plopping the flakes in her mouth. The taste was similar to the flakes she had tasted back in Gaipan; however, the taste was smokier.

Being a firebender, Meili found that her chi was a crucial source of power and energy. She always felt stronger, livelier, in the sun and around fires. The warmth would enhance her own chi, drawing in the natural energy excreting from the power sources. Anything hot would have a similar, but smaller, impact. So Meili wasn't sure if it was her hunger being satiated, her chi growing stronger, or merely a remembrance of her home in Gaipan, but the fire flakes made her feelings of sickness dim and replaced it with a feeling of contentedness.

"Hey, there's a big crowd over there," Katara pointed out, her slender finger pointing towards a conglomerate of people huddled around a stage

"We should go check it out!" Aang shouted.

"Hold on," Sokka spoke, pulling on the back of Aang's cloak to stop him from speeding off. "Maybe we should stay farther back. Knowing the Fire Nation, this could be an execution."

Katara rolled her eyes, "Oh, lighten up, Sokka! Everyone is laughing over there."

"He's a fire performer," Meili said, jutting her head to the side as she snuck a few more flakes into her mouth. "See?"

Everyone's gaze moved toward the stage where a man was holding a ring of fire. He twirled the hoop around his hand, swirling the flames in a circle before throwing the ring up high into the air; the flames suddenly turned blue, illuminating the stage and the faces in the crowd with a pale sapphire glow.

"Wow, his fire must be really hot!" Aang smiled largely, his eyes glistening in amazement.

"He's using a colored powder to dye the flames," Meili stated. "You can tell from the smell."

The monk wormed his way out of Sokka's grip. "Well, either way, it's super cool! I want to get a closer look!"

The small airbender pushed his way through the crowd, giving his companions no other choice except to follow.

The performer bowed towards his audience, reveling in the applause and the excitement. Holding up his hands, he signaled everyone to grow quiet.

"Thank you all for your gracious cheers! For this next trick, I'm going to need a volunteer from the audience!"

Aang's head immediately popped up, and his hand moved instantly into the air. "Oh! Me, me! Pick me!"

"What are you doing?" Sokka questioned in a hushed voice, yanking Aang's arm down.

"I want to go up there."

"Aang, we need to keep a low profile," Katara warned. "We agreed on this before we came in here."

"—How about you!" the performer suddenly announced pointing an outstretched finger forward. "You're just looking to be noticed wearing such a vibrant, white cloak!"

The group turned to look at Meili, who had paused mid lift of her mask to eat another bite of the fire flakes.

"Sorry, I don't wanna."

"Oh, a stubborn one! Let's give the girl some encouragement folks!" the performer shouted, lifting his arms up high as he pranced on the stage.

Meili felt someone begin to push her forward, and turning around, she saw that it was a performance helper.

She rolled her shoulder back to stop the man. "Hey, knock it off. I said no."

"Meili," Katara's voice warned through clenched teeth. "We don't want to cause a scene. Just go with it."

The black-haired girl took a long, deep breath before nodding her head, moving forward toward the stage to let the performer grab ahold of her hand. The man lifted her up onto the stage, positioning her in front of a red cushioned chair. "My next trick is called 'Taming the Dragon.'"

He quickly sat her down into the seat, grabbing a red sash to tie around her waist and hold her to the chair. "You are my captured princess," he grinned, grabbing her hood and tugging the cowl down to reveal her hair. "A beautiful fair maiden!"

Meili instinctually moved her hands up to put her hood back on, but forgot that she had been restricted. She was glad, at that moment, that the group had chosen to buy masks.

The stage was square with four large columns set on either corner. They were lit at the top, and the flames wavered in the nighttime sky. The performer drew the columns of fire together, assembling them into one long stream of fire to resemble a dragon. He curved the flames in quick, controlled movements, remaining flashy and flamboyant throughout the act.

"I'll protect you, my lady!" he shouted, conjuring up a second stream of fire acting as a rope. He pretended to capture the dragon, and tried to hold it steady from its turns and twists.

"This dragon is too strong! I don't know how much longer I can hold it for," the performer exaggerated, pretending that the fire beast was escaping his grasp.

Meili almost laughed. Almost.

But as payback for being called up to the stage, she decided to have a little fun.

She focused on the heat of the dragon — the warmth, the energy, the power. She felt it course through her chi, like a spark igniting a flame. With her hands still tied behind her back, where no one would be able to see, she lightly flexed her fingers, taking control of the dragon waving in the sky.

The performer faltered, having noticed the dragon stop following his movements; however, when he looked at his captured prisoner, he merely met a green mask with an even glare.

"The-the dragon! It has a mind of its own! I don't know if I can tame it!" the man attempted to play along.

Meili smirked, feeling the man try to win back over the stream of fire by force. Their chis were fighting for dominance, and if Meili was smart, she wouldn't have been exerting herself in her sickened state. But she found herself not listening to logic, and so she clenched her jaw tightly with one final push of energy, manipulating the dragon out of the performer's grasp and toward the crowd.

Nodding her head up, the dragon followed the movements, and everyone's eyes watched as the dragon of fire made its way down a long alley way toward a giant box of explosives. The dragon made contact with the fireworks, making Meili grin.

"Boom."

And the explosives soared toward the sky. While everyone was distracted, Meili quickly untied herself from the chair, moving amidst the chaos toward her companions offstage.

"Wow, that trick was great!" Aang marveled, looking up into the sky in awe.

"I think we should leave," Sokka warned, "that didn't look planned."

"I agree," Meili spoke. "And this performer guy definitely didn't like being upstaged."

"Let's get out of here," Katara nodded her head.

The group backtracked while the firework commotion was going on and headed back out of the village. Before they left, though, Sokka purchased a few snacks to take with them to camp.

The mountain pass was darker at night, and so the group remained close as to not be led astray from one another. They soon traveled back to where they had left Appa and Momo, and sure enough, the two animals came parading out from behind a few trees.

The large bison let out a small grumble of glee, and Aang zoomed over to the animal with his arms outstretched. Almost comically, the airbender hugged the bison and in return, received a giant lick from the large, rough tongue.

"Well, that was exciting," Aang concluded, rubbing a hand through Appa's fur.

"It was alright," Meili said grumpily, taking a seat on the ground. Momo circled around her head, gliding down onto her shoulder moments later. She cracked her neck as the group got settled in the shadows, creating a low campfire in order to keep warm. With the temperatures dropping as they moved northward, the group found that fires and layers had become a necessity.

Not that Meili was really ever bothered. Firebenders were lucky in that regard; their natural body temperature was higher than the average person, with only extremely low temperatures affecting them adversely. However, when body temperatures began to rise, like with a fever, a firebender's warmer disposition could accelerate these adverse effects.

She took a deep breath, feeling the flames of the camp fire warm her body even more. Her sickness was coming in waves, and she knew if her companions could see her face, they would be worried. She felt gaunt and weary, and the skin on her hands was lackluster and sallow.

The cool grass seemed to ease her fast beating heart and the bile building in her throat. She would be fine if she didn't let the sickness get to her. She slowed down her breathing, trying to make it easier to inhale through her closed airways and raspy esophagus. With each passing of the air through her lungs, expelling through her mouth, a low wheeze ensued.

"I never knew your hair was that long, Meili!" Katara grinned. "I can braid it for you sometime if you want."

"No thanks," Meili grimaced. "You're lucky you got to see my hair at all. That performer guy was an imbecile."

"You guys sure are cozy out here, aren't ya?" a voice suddenly spoke, making everyone turn in their spots. Aang was immediately on the move, airbending himself out of his cot he had been snuggled into and lifting his hands up in front of him in a defensive state. Katara got up from her knees and instinctively grabbed the canteen holstered on her hip. Both Meili and Sokka tensed and reached for their weapons while Appa let a low rumble of a growl leave his lips.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Aang spoke authoritatively, his tone lowering an octave.

"Woah, hey, I'm not your enemy. I'm a friend. You're the Avatar, right? I saw you at that festival."

Aang's eyes widened ever so slightly with trust.

"You're a Fire Nation soldier?" Sokka accused, lifting his boomerang up high above his head.

" _Was_ ," the man corrected. "My name's Chey. I'm with the resistance."

Everyone's guard slowly relaxed once they saw that the man was not moving to strike, though Sokka and Meili were more wary than their companions.

"Once I saw your crazy disguises, I knew it had to be you. In a town of Fire Nation civilians and admirals, your yellow clothes sure stood out. Not to mention that no one here wears white, I knew you guys had to be special. So I followed you. The commotion from the festival made it pretty hard but-"

"Why are you here," Meili demanded, her voice remaining powerful and defensive even through the rasps.

"I serve a man. More than a man really, he's a myth; but he's real - a living legend. He's known as Jeong Jeong the Deserter. He was a Fire Nation general... or wait, was he an admiral?"

Sokka's face pulled downward, clearly not amused. "He was very highly ranked; we get it."

Chey clapped. "Yeah! Way up there! But he couldn't take the madness anymore. He's the first person ever to leave the army and _live_. I'm the second, but you don't get to be a legend for that. That's okay though. Jeong Jeong's a firebending genius. Some say he's mad - but he's not! He's enlightened."

"Deserter or not, he was still with the Fire Nation army. Why should we trust you?" Katara questioned.

Chey's face looked slightly disappointed. "We're not all bad you know. Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe - I mean, we don't _all_ want war. I had a family. A wife ... kids. But, she left me because she hated the army and what it stood for. I thought war was a necessity back then. But Jeong Jeong changed my mind. When he left, he showed me there's other ways to fight. You can fight for change!"

"You say that," Meili noted. "But how do we know that you're being honest? You say you followed us here — based off of a whim that this little boy was the Avatar. What if this is all a ploy to have us let down our guard? What if you're really a soldier working with the Crowned Prince?"

"What if I'm a turtle duck?" Chey questioned with a shrug. "I mean - I first saw you guys around this area before the festival. I saw you guys put your cloaks on and go in. If I was working with someone higher, wouldn't I make sure you all are captured and expose you guys while you're in a town full of Fire Nation soldiers and admirals? But I'm not like that - because, we in the resistance want change; and our leader, Jeong Jeong, is the perfect person to train the Avatar! _That's_ why I followed you here."

"Look, thanks for the help, but we're leaving for the North Pole in the morning," Sokka stated pointedly. "We're already on a time crunch as it is. We don't need any more distractions."

Aang's face looked sad. "But, Sokka, this could be my only chance to meet a firebending master who would actually be willing to teach me."

"I don't know, Aang," Katara trailed off. "Meili's right. We've walked into traps like this before with Prince Zuko."

"At least talk to him," Chey pleaded. "If not for me, then do it for the world, Avatar. You _must_ master all four elements if this war is to be stopped."

Sokka lifted up a finger, probably to make an undignified remark, but was stopped by a sudden rustle of a bush to his left. His face looked immediately over to Chey, the Water Tribe boy's facial features holding a suspicious glare.

"What was that?"

Suddenly, a spear was pressed against the back of the boys head, the tip threateningly pushing into the stubble covering the nape of his neck.

"Don't move," a low, hushed voice bit out, and almost immediately after, the entire clearing was surrounded by men. They were wearing straw hats and light armor, signaling that they were on the defense. And immediately Aang wondered if Chey really was setting them up. But one look at the men's tribal makeup and wood-carved spears instantly made the monk relax. They weren't Fire Nation.

"Oh, hey guys! I didn't know you were following me," Chey sweatdropped, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You know these guys?" Katara questioned.

"Oh yeah!" Chey said with a grin, waving to the leader of the tribal men. "Lin Yee's an old buddy. Right, Lin Yee?"

"Shut up," the man in questioned snarled. "Jeong Jeong told you not to look for the Avatar. He told you _specifically_."

"I thought it was a suggestion," Chey said nervously.

"Just start moving," Lin Yee spoke with authority, and soon, the tribal men began escorting the group east.

"Where are you taking us?" Sokka all but yelled, angry by the sudden intrusion. "We need to reach the North Pole by the end of this week. We don't have time for you guys to perform some tribal voodoo on us."

"We're taking you to Jeong Jeong," one of the tribal men spoke. "He will tell us what to do with you."

Meili wanted to fight back, argue maybe, tell them that they were on a schedule, but she found her energy weak. Like a sedative, her fever coursed through her veins like an acid, draining the strength from each muscle and every breath. Her ribs felt like steel traps, closing in her chest so tight that her breaths came out in short shallow bursts.

Her legs faltered ever so slightly, making her fumble in front of the man leading her. The toe of her foot crashed down onto Katara's ankle, causing the girl's furry boot to slide down her foot.

"Meili!" the waterbender shrieked. "Watch where you're walking!"

When Katara was met with no response, she noticed that Meili appeared sluggish.

"Hey, are you okay?" Aang questioned.

Meili tried to answer; she didn't want them to worry. But her lungs felt like they were slowly filling with water, inhibiting her from taking in the breaths she desperately needed. Her head became lighter, more disorienting, as the forest trail she was walking down became a kaleidoscope of trees and bushes.

Her eyes were tired. Her knees weak. Her head light. And then, she was falling.

"Someone catch her!" Meili could hear the monk shout.

Instead of bracing the harsh impact of the ground, the girl was met instead with the feeling of broad arms and a hard chest. But she didn't have time to think about any of that now. Or rather, she had no strength to. Her consciousness flickered like a light — on and off— until it slowly faded out to black. The last thing she remembered was Sokka asking Chey what he had done to her before she slipped into the darkness.

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A/N: Hi guys! Here's the next update :) thank you for the continuous follows and favorites, it means so much. See you all soon!


	10. Chapter 10

Long time no see, followers! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but here is chapter 10! Also, I now have my Instagram account linked up to my Fanfiction profile, so if you would like to see what Meili looks like, click the link on my profile to check her out! Without further ado, let's dive in! 3

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Meili awoke groggy and disoriented, her eyes fluttering slowly as they adjusted to the light. She lightly rose a hand up to her face, blocking the sun seeping through the tent's walls she appeared to be resting in. She coughed, realizing that she at some point had passed out.

Pushing herself up, Meili moved her hand to her head, rubbing against her temple where a headache was pounding. Her brain was fuzzy, and the last thing she seemed to remember was the Fire Festival. And then they were in the forest, they were ambushed, and then they were walking…

"You're awake."

The voice startled her, for she did not expect for someone else's company to be in her own. She could tell by the octave that it was Sokka, in all his sarcastic glory. She lightly turned to meet his voice, but instead of his normal, goofy demeanor, the boy's face appeared angry. He was sitting with one leg propped up, his right arm draped loosely over it. The boy's eyes had low shadows, as if he hadn't slept.

Meili fully turned her head to the right, her eyes focusing in on the figure seated beside her.

"How... long was I out for?" Meili questioned softly.

"About a day. You slept all last night and through today. The sun's about to go down soon."

Meili crossed her legs tentatively, turning away from the Water Tribe boy. "Well, now that I'm awake, we can leave."

There was a pause, one that Meili was not used to. Sokka normally took no time in filling silences, usually chiming in with an inappropriately timed joke. But instead, all Meili could hear was the boy clearing his throat roughly.

"We can _leave_? Meili, do you think this is a joke? You were seriously sick. Your skin felt like it was on fire! Why didn't you tell us?"

"…It would've slowed us down," Meili muttered, her brows furrowing together.

Sokka was quiet for a moment. "How long?"

"How long what?" Meili questioned.

"How long have you been sick for."

The black-haired girl coughed lightly into the crook of her arm, her gaze slightly looking up to Sokka's.

"I don't know."

A low scoff. "I'm not buying that."

He was angry. His eyebrows were pulled down together and his jaw was tense. Sokka's blue eyes, like the crashing waves, honed in on her sick figure with an even glare. She didn't know why he was so mad. It's not like they wasted _that_ much time on her recovery. Besides, it's not their job to care for her.

But she figured the boy would soon grow more irate, and his voice would start to crack with irritation if she didn't tell him, and she didn't feel like dealing with his screeches. Meili sighed. "Since we ... left that Earth Kingdom ballroom."

"You've been sick ever since me and Katara sucked on those frogs?" Sokka all but yelled, causing Meili to wince slightly. "Meili, are you crazy? Why didn't you ... I can't believe you kept this a secret all this time!"

"It wasn't that bad." Meili scowled, not surprised that Sokka had chosen to screech anyways. "I was handling it just fine."

"Just _fine_..." Sokka repeated. "Just fine? You think being sick and fighting two Fire Nation generals is just _fine_? You think getting worse and worse day by day until you fall over is _just fine_?"

"I don't need anyone's help," Meili bit back. "Not yours. Not anybody's. You already told me that you can't trust me. What makes you think that I trust you?"

"That was—" Sokka spoke, cutting himself off shortly after. "That wasn't what I said. I called you a liar and — well, that was a mistake... I messed up. I was just mad, okay? At a lot of things, and I took it out on you. Even though you lied to us, I took it too far."

Meili looked down into her lap, fiddling with her hands laying atop the alabaster blanket covering her legs. She was lying to herself. Because a part of her knew that despite her venom-laced words, she _did_ trust the people she was with now. And it was with that trust that she was becoming fearful. Meili always attributed trust with weakness. Trusting someone meant that she cared about them. It allowed leverage. It could be used against her.

She didn't want to trust or even care for the people she had been traveling with. She tried to fight it. But it was the overwhelming sense of being cared for that had started to resonate inside of her. Meili had always been alone. Even with Jai, she always felt like she had no purpose.

But with these three travelers, everything just felt _right_.

"I'm sorry also about - uh... acting different," Sokka mumbled out awkwardly. "When I saw your face, I mean."

Meili moved to twirl a piece of her hair, turning away from the boy. "Seems like my face isn't a secret anymore, is it?"

His apologies were… new to her. Sokka was a boy of conviction, who hardly said things he didn't mean. So for him to go out of his way to apologize for his actions, twice, Meili wasn't sure how to take it. Did he have an ulterior motive? Was he just trying to get back in her good graces?

"Well," Sokka dragged out, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. "Yeah, no. When you fell, your hood came off, and to see if you were alright, we had to continuously monitor your fever, which meant leaving it off."

Meili rolled her eyes. "Figures."

With a wince, the girl lightly began to push herself up from the cot on the ground. She was surprised with how easy it was, until she looked to her right to see Sokka lifting her up from under her arm. His tanned fingers were wrapped around her tricep, holding her steady as she attempted to right herself.

"I've got it," Meili grumbled, rolling her shoulder back to move the boy's hand from her arm.

"Fine, fine," Sokka said, shrugging and turning away.

Meili in turn, fumbled in her spot, immediately losing balance. She noticed that her body was very weak, feeble, and uncooperative. Before she crashed to the ground, however, she felt the familiar feeling of warm fingers pressed into her tricep once more.

"Are you sure you got it?" Sokka's voice came snarky from behind her.

Meili's eyebrow quivered ever so slightly in annoyance, and she turned her head away from the boy indignantly. "Okay, I might need a _little_ help."

Sokka moved her arm over his shoulder, propping her upright so she could walk beside him.

"A few things happened while you were out," Sokka spoke. "Aang started learning how to firebend, he accidentally burned Katara, Katara learned she has healing powers — which is actually kind of annoying because when we were younger, I hurt myself all the time, and I didn't see her healing me then. Like when I fell into the greaseberry bramble … Oh, and the time this mink snake bit me! —"

"Aang can firebend?" Meili questioned.

"Not really. He tried, but Jeong Jeong said he wasn't ready." Sokka paused as if in thought. "Oh! Speaking of that old geezer, he wanted to see you after you woke up."

"Why?" Meili asked, and Sokka shrugged as he opened up the entrance to the tent.

"Beats me. I don't speak crazy ex-Fire Nation. I'm sure he'll tell you why."

Exiting the tent, Meili was met with a bright, vibrant campsite with small cottages lining a river. The sun had just begun its descent int sunset, painting the sky with brilliant hues of gold and red.

Katara was standing in the neighboring brook, moving and twirling the water under her control in a display of whips and lashes. Aang was standing in front of one of the larger cottages, talking to an older man decorated in dark robes. His left eye, similarly to hers, had a scar running through it. As they exited Meili's healing chambers, everyone seemed to take notice of her presence.

"You're awake!" the monk's voice suddenly yelled, and a whistle of wind blew as an eccentric flash of yellow stopped abruptly in front of the two teens. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"Thanks, Avatar," Meili said shyly, looking away from his cheerful eyes. "I'm … sorry … for not saying anything sooner."

"Oh, so _now_ you're sorry?" Sokka shrieked, his voice cracking in the process.

The boy was then slapped on the back of the head, courtesy of his sister who approached from behind. "Don't be so loud, Sokka. She's still healing."

"No thanks to you, Katara," Aang said lowly, with a small hint of a blush.

Katara rubbed the back of her neck bashfully, "I mean, I'm no expert. But it was cool being able to test out my new abilities."

"Well, thank you, too," Meili attempted to smile. Though it came out more pained-looking than anything else.

"Wow, it's so crazy seeing you do that!" Katara said enthusiastically.

"Do what?" Meili questioned.

"Have emotions? Have a face?" Sokka filled in the blank.

"It's like I'm meeting you for the first time," Katara smiled.

Meili looked at them all pointedly. "Are we done now? It's just a face."

Katara's eyes lit up. "Wow! That's the exact expression I pictured you making whenever you say something sarcastic!"

Meili pulled her hood over her head. "Okay, and away it goes."

"Aw, c'mon! Leave it off!" Katara whined.

"If I may—" a powerful voice interrupted, and the kids all turned to face the Deserter, the man who escaped from the Fire Nation army, the man leading part of the resistance.

"Master Jeong Jeong," Aang spoke, bowing politely before gesturing to Meili.

"I heard you wanted to see me," the girl spoke evenly, earning a nod from the older man.

"Come."

The man began his descent away, walking down a dirt path leading toward a mountain in the distance. Meili turned to her companions, who all nodded their heads for her to follow. Sokka moved to grab some contraption from Aang, which turned out to be a makeshift crutch carved from wood.

"I made this for you to walk," Sokka said calmly, removing Meili's arm from around his shoulder and placing the blanket-padded crutch underneath of her armpit. She realized that the padding was actually a cut up piece of one of his woolen jackets, patched together and tied to the crutch with fishing line.

Meili silently pieced together that Sokka's dark circles had come from staying up to make her the crutch, and she felt slightly embarrassed that he put so much work into making something so small for her. She quietly thanked the Water Tribe boy for his gift and hobbled after the old master walking up the path to the mountain's summit.

Meili followed the firebender silently up the mountain, listening to Jeong Jeong's footsteps. He carried himself with so much prestige, and she could feel his chi radiating in a way that intimidated her. Feeling the master's aura, a chi so strong and powerful, made her almost fearful for what he was going to say.

"You had a rare firebending condition known as fire lungs," Jeong Jeong spoke. "It's a sickness that causes your chi to inflame the lungs, triggering flu-like symptoms to appear. As far as we know, firebenders get this when their chi levels become imbalanced, most-likely due to a previous illness weakening the immune system or even stress."

Meili stared forward, trying her best not to fall over with the crutch.

"I can see that your friends do not know, so I told them that it was a virus," Jeong Jeong said harshly. "I can understand your pain. Fire brings destruction. It forces those of us burdened with its care to walk a razor's edge between humanity and savagery. Eventually, we are torn apart."

"I always wondered why the spirits cursed me with these abilities," Meili spoke lowly. "I've hurt so many people because of what I am. How do you cope with it?"

"Fire is a horrible burden to bear. Its nature is to consume and without control, it destroys everything around it," Jeong Jeong grimaced, his gaze even in front of him. "Fire is alive! It breathes, it grows. Without the bender, fire will spread and destroy everything in its path if one does not have the will to control it. In the army, we were never taught restraint. But you — you have a chance to change the face of this curse."

There was a quiet pause as the man's words sunk into Meili's mind, and she processed what he was saying with each step uphill she took.

"What if I hurt the people I love again?" Meili questioned quietly, her gaze focused on his feet. "I can't hurt these people I'm with now. But I've never been taught control. I've been taught to fear who I am — to fear fire."

Jeong Jeong sighed gruffly. "I had a pupil once who had no interest in learning discipline. He was only concerned with the power of fire — how he could use it to destroy his opponents and wipe out the obstacles in his path. So much of our power comes from the breath. Not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire. Without the proper foundation, fire is just a tool of destruction."

"But how does this help me?" Meili asked. The two came to a stop on top of the mountain, overlooking the forest of trees below.

"There was a reason that I knew I couldn't teach the Avatar. Not only is he not ready, but I knew I was not meant to be his master. Just like the other elements, fire is necessary for balance. Even when the war ends, the dance between darkness and light will always remain— the stars and the moon will always need the darkness to be seen, the darkness wouldn't be worth having without the moon and the stars."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Jeong Jeong shook his head. "Being a firebender, you are merely the guide of energy. You do not command it. You do not force it. Understanding the positive and negative energies of yin and yang can help you to understand why this curse was brought upon you."

"So basically I'm just supposed to find the good in me being a firebender?" Meili attempted to clarify.

"No," Jeong Jeong huffed. "The source of your power is important. Fuel your fire with pain and rage and the results can be uncontrollable; alter your perceptions to hope and change and the flames become energy and life. You decide what course your bending takes."

Meili looked back over to the land below the mountain's summit. She knew she had to tell them — eventually, whenever the time was right. She looked back on telling Jai. It was one of the hardest moments of her life.

It was a little over a year since Jai had first come to the orphanage, a year and a half before they joined the Freedom Fighters. By then, he was five and Meili had just turned eleven. They were sitting out on the back porch to the orphanage, holding a small cupcake that one of the caregivers had given to Meili. There was a candle pressed into the vanilla cake, but it had not been lit.

"Stupid caregivers, they forgot to light it!" Jai said grumpily, standing up sharply. "How are you supposed to make your birthday wish now?"

Meili lightly tugged on the bottom of his shirt, pulling him back over.

"It's okay," the girl spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "I need to … tell you something. But it's a secret, okay? Which means you can't tell _anyone_! Got it?"

Jai's head perked up. "A secret?"

"Yes," Meili nodded. "If you tell anyone, I could be in danger. It's something I've never told _anyone_ …"

Jai sat back down, his little legs dangling off the side of the patio. It was raining outside, and the tips of his shoes had droplets of water tapping steadily on the leather. Thunder boomed in the nighttime are, reverberating off of the wooden orphanage walls and echoing through the porch.

"I don't know who my parents are. I never have," Meili started, her throat tight. "I found out when I was five."

"Found out what?" Jai pressed.

"They had given me a gift at birth that I didn't know about. Something I found out on my own."

"A gift? Like a family heirloom?" Jai asked.

Meili shook her head. "I'm… a bender."

Thunder crackled in the air.

"Wow, that's so cool!" Jai exclaimed, jumping up in his spot. "Is it fun to lift up rocks? I always wished I could pick up a huge boulder and just .. throw it!"

Meili smiled anxiously. "Jai, I— I'm not…. I'm not an earthbender."

Jai paused in his movements, his eyebrows pulling down in confusion. "You're a… waterbender?"

Meili took a deep breath, holding the small cake in her left hand as she lifted up her right. Bringing a finger towards the candle, her finger suddenly flickered in bright light. Jai thought it had been the lightening outside, but he soon saw the small flame burning off of the girl's fingertip as she lit the candle on the cupcake.

Jai fell to the ground and scurried back, his face contorting into fright. "Y-you're a — stay away!"

"It's okay!" Meili frowned, blowing the flame on the candle out. "It's okay. Please. Please don't back away."

Jai lifted his hands up in front of his face, cowering in fear as Meili sauntered closer. She gently took her hand and grabbed his forearm, and Jai was surprised to feel that her hand felt normal. No heat. No fire.

He silently looked up. "You're a _fire_ bender?"

Meili looked away. "I found out the hard way. But I never asked to be this… monster."

"You're not in the army?"

The girl shook her head. "No."

Jai sighed, grabbing the cupcake from the girl in front of him. "Well, I mean, I guess that's why everyone has always been afraid of you. Maybe because your energy just feels dangerous."

"Maybe," Meili whispered, her eyes pulling away from the younger boy's. "I wish I wasn't. I wish I was normal. I'm sorry you had to learn about this."

Jai pulled the candle out of the cupcake, throwing it off of the patio and out into the rain.

"Even though you're a firebender, I mean… you're always going to be an Earth Kingdom citizen, right? So it doesn't matter if you can bend rocks or bend fire… because this is still your home, not the Fire Nation."

Meili looked taken aback, not expecting the boy's even reaction. "This is my home. Wherever you are."

Jai grinned ripping the cupcake in half. It crumbled under his touch, and pieces fell to the floor under them as he extended the cake out to Meili. "And no matter who we are, we're always going to be family."

Meili smiled slightly, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. "Y-yes. Always."

Meili was brought back to the mountain as Jeong Jeong cleared his throat, and she turned her head to the older man. He motioned his head backward, signaling that it was time to head back. Meili resituated the crutch underneath of her armpit before nodding and following behind the man once again.

They made their way back down to the cottages. Sokka was seen cleaning his boomerang in the water where Aang and Katara were practicing waterbending in front of him. It was late, and normally the group would have been tucked into their cots by now, but it seemed as if they were waiting for Meili to arrive.

"You have a good group in front of you. They may lack concentration, but they have good hearts.."

Meili bowed to the man in front of her. "Thank you for your words of wisdom. I will remember them on our journey."

"I left some medicine for you in a pouch given to the Avatar. Your waterbender friend should help you out as well. It's the same medicine I use when I get fire lungs."

"You're very kind," Meili smiled.

Aang walked over slowly from the water, pulling himself out of the river and airbending himself dry. Momo flew onto the monk's shoulder. "We're all packed up and ready to go when you are, Meili. Katara got all of your stuff."

Sokka got up from his spot and slung a bag over his shoulder, presumably holding provisions. "Yeah. Appa's all rested up so we're going to fly through the night."

"Thank you. All of you," Meili spoke.

"Master Jeong Jeong, make sure to thank Chey for us — for leading us here!" Katara smiled. "If it wasn't for his disobedience, we wouldn't have had a safe place to stay while Meili healed."

"I know firsthand how felicitous it can be to ignore orders; that is the whole basis of our resistance. I know that when the time is right, I will meet you all again. Continue to learn and grow, Avatar. We're counting on you. But for now, you must go before the skies grow too dark. It isn't safe for you to stay in one place for too long"

The group of kids bowed before the elder, rising a moment later as they turned toward Appa grazing in the distance.

They climbed up the bison's large tail, Katara holding Meili steady as she hobbled on Appa's fur.

Settling into his saddle, the group held on as Appa rose into the air with a powerful flick of his tail, soaring into the skies above. The cottages, Jeong Jeong, and the river disappeared as they flew away.

Aang and Katara were sitting on the bison's head together, talking softly underneath of the setting sun. Meili was tucked into the corner of the saddle, holding the medicine pouch in her hands. The brown sack was sitting in her palms, and by its weight, she guessed that the medicine was in a vial.

She put it in her bag, deciding to take it in the morning after she had rested just a little bit longer. Meili was just finishing when she heard footsteps approaching from beside her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Sokka set down the provisions and then slump next to her.

"You're kind of a pain," Sokka yawned into the crook of his arm, lounging out beside the girl.

The girl coughed lightly, her brows pulling downward in confusion. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Just chillaxing," the boy replied lazily, using the nail on his pointer finger to scratch at the pad of his thumb. "Don't know if you forgot, but we were all worried sick about you for the past few days."

The girl deadpanned. "And how does that make me a pain?"

"Eh," Sokka shrugged, rubbing the pads of his fingers together. "Girls just don't know when to admit their weaknesses. You know — because of pride and stuff like that."

"Well, no one told you to sit by me."

Sokka yawned, moving in his spot. "Yeah, but does it look like I want to sit by those two love birds canoodling over there? No."

Meili glanced back over to Katara and Aang, who had seemed to have gotten closer to one another. Meili's gaze was brought back to the boy beside her, however, as she saw his fingers moving against one another out of the corner of her eye.

"Can you stop fidgeting?" the girl questioned, seeing Sokka pick at his thumb.

"I'm not," he grumbled, sitting up in his spot. He was sticking his tongue out in order to concentrate. "I have splinters in my fingers from making that stupid crutch. Argh! — Katara said the wood has to be out before she can heal it."

Meili side-glanced at the boy's fingers. They looked worn and calloused, most likely due to his erratic carving of wood done while she was unconscious. She could see cuts and scratches as well littering his palm. She felt her face grow warm as she thought about the selfless act he had committed: a simple carving of wood, but an overwhelmingly complex feeling of ... embarrassment? Is that what she felt?

She shook her head, biting down on her lower lip. The pink flesh was chapped and cracked, feeling drier than the air of the Great Divide. She tore a piece of the skin off with a weird ache in her chest.

"Um, when Jai and I used to play outside of the orphanage, we often got splinters. The Earth Kingdom has a lot of trees, you know. I bet the Water Tribes have to get most wood imported."

Sokka picked his gaze up, settling his eyes on the hooded girl's cowl. "Yeah, we trade penguin seal blubber for lumber. Fishing hooks ... I'm used to having stuck in my fingers. Tiny fragments of wood? Not so much."

"If I wasn't so prideful, I could get the splinters out for you," Meili replied pointedly, sarcasm dripping off of her tongue. "Only because you made the crutch for me. Not because I want to be nice or anything like that."

Sokka squinted his eyes. "Are you sure that you don't still have a fever?"

Meili crossed her arms. "On second thought, you're right! My girly weaknesses just make it too hard for me to help you. Have fun digging at your fingers all night, Ponytail."

"Wait! I was just joking," Sokka choked out vehemently.

"I wasn't."

And even though Sokka couldn't see her face, the conviction in her voice made him certain that she was telling the truth.

She didn't know why she was offering to help the boy out. He was always either sexist, sarcastic, or annoying. But he had done her a favor, even though she hadn't asked him to do it. She figured getting the splinters out would make them even; she hated feeling like she owed people.

The Water Tribe boy watched as the girl huffed indignantly, clearing her throat before moving to her hands and knees to shuffle over to Katara's bag. He saw her fumble around for a moment, pulling out a small case moments later.

"Katara's sewing stuff? Why would you need that?"

Meili shuffled back over to the back corner of the saddle, moving so that her figure was placed in front of Sokka's sprawled out legs.

"Do you want my help or not, Ponytail?"

The boy rolled his eyes at his nickname before sitting up and crossing his legs. "Fine, fine. I'll be quiet."

"Good."

She wiggled in her spot in order to inch forward, setting the sewing box in her lap. She slowly undid the clasp on the front, opening up the box to reveal the sewing items. Meili sifted through the items until she found a small ball of wool, and stuck inside were a bunch of needles.

She carefully pulled out the small, metal tool from the tuff of wool, pinching it in-between her fingers before holding out her left hand. Meili gestured her head downward.

"Well?"

Sokka scoffed, sticking out his right hand first. She carefully took the back of his hand into her palm, examining his flesh and the wounds puckering his skin. Meili was surprised at how many splinters he had; some were small little pricks of wood lightly lodged into the surface, others were, well... not.

She carefully rose her hand to her cowl, tugging on it lightly to pull it down over her thick mass of curly hair.

"What are you doing that for?" Sokka questioned.

Meili shook her head, and as the Water Tribe boy looked at her face, he could tell she looked bemused.

"Well, Ponytail, it _is_ nighttime. And my cloak adds unnecessary shadows. I figured I'd need every ounce of light the moon is giving off to see these splinters. But —"

And that was when he saw it. Meili was fighting back a smile.

Sokka had seen a lot of smiles in his lifetime. His father's was one he immediately remembered: the man's strong jawline, sharp and defined, would soften ever so slightly with a crease of his eyes. Every one of his perfectly aligned teeth would show, giving a look that could only be described as appreciation and respect.

Katara was one of the more expressive people in their tribe, second to Gran Gran. The girl would always burst out into hysterics, laughing bubbly with a wide grin that always made her eyes close tightly. Her face would blush, from the cold or rosacea Sokka didn't know.

The last smile he knew by heart was his mother's. It was always warm, but reserved. Soft, but enthralling. The woman's lips were always cracked and chapped from the cold, her front teeth slightly crooked. But her smiles were still kind and inviting, mostly because they always reached her ocean-blue orbs.

His mother had this ... _knowing_ gleam in her eyes. It was cryptic at times: Sokka would always get angry when she would smile at his warrior training, thinking she was making fun of his abilities. Her eyes would shimmer almost wistfully as her lips turned upward, making it seem as though she knew something he didn't.

At the end of the day, his mother's smile had always made him smile.

Meili's grin was weird to Sokka... because it was a combination of all three smiles he knew.

The angles of her face remained rugged and stiff like his father, most likely stemming from her gruff and stand-offish attitude. But her grin, although small, was cheeky like Katara's, full of emotion and light. The closer Sokka analyzed her smile, he sensed an overwhelming amount of restraint in her actions. Meili's shoulders were stiff, and the high planes of her cheeks didn't rise as much as Sokka thought they could. But he knew she was smiling: he could tell from her eyes.

And like his mother, her blush-toned lips were lightly cracked, no doubt dry from her sickness and the increasing northern cold.

Her slight grin could've looked unimpressive to the average passerby, but it was a sight he never expected to see. And from a girl he had known to be nothing but sarcastic, the slight glimpse he had of her teeth was almost captivating.

"Ponytail, some of these splinters are so _big_! Just how bad are you at carving wood? I could've made myself a crutch while I was sick _and_ still be finished without a scratch on me."

"H-hey! I'll have you know that the wood was very finicky."

"This is pathetic. Maybe instead of ponytail, I should just start calling you wood fingers."

And then, just as quickly as it had come, her inkling of a smile left her face. The speed in which it did was almost alarming to Sokka, and after fumbling the thought around in his head, he figured it was a defense mechanism.

"Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up and get them out already."

Meili positioned the boy's hand in front of her, careful to keep her gaze on his fingers. She was internally cursing at herself for letting a smile slip out. Sarcastic mirth was one thing, but she had felt actual... amusement by Sokka and his clumsy nature.

The last time she had felt that way was around Jai.

Her brother's antics had always made her grin and chuckle, and the familial bond they created always made her smile fondly. But she had not _laughed_ in a while.

So, why had the Water Tribe boy elicited such a reaction from her? Was her fading sickness returning? Or had Sokka done something to her while she was out?

Because for some reason, every time she looked at him since the abbey … it would make her stomach churn. Meili was slowly becoming more self-conscious of her actions and the things she said around the boy. And even though she hadn't lied — and had taken off her hood to see his hands more clearly — a part of her wanted to see his reaction. She wanted to see that look he had given her when he had seen her face for the first time.

It hadn't been his usual glower or skepticism, or even a dorky grin: it had been an intense look that unknowingly made her cheeks burn. But she would never show him those silly reactions anyways, especially since she had no idea why they had been occurring. Meili was going to, instead, push them to the side, and ignore them. After all, she was still trying to keep herself distant from her three companions.

She worked hastily to remove the splinters, puncturing the skin with the needle over the part of the splinter closest to the surface of his palm. She would then carefully scrape the wood out of the cavity and wipe the extracted pieces onto her pants.

They were quiet for a long time, and Sokka kept his gaze focused on the dark, nighttime sky. Every now and then, he would wince from the needle piercing his skin, but Meili would always quietly apologize a moment later. At some point, his sister and Aang had moved to their cots, and they had fallen fast asleep without wishing the two goodnight.

"Aang and Katara were really worried about you, you know," Sokka spoke quietly, drawing Meili from her concentration. The black-haired girl turned in her spot to look at the two kids in the cots.

"I know."

"You know?" Sokka questioned.

Meili sighed, putting the needle down inside of the woolen puff. "They're good kids, Ponytail. They're overwhelmingly caring sometimes. I'm sure they were freaking out."

"We all were. We thought Chey had drugged you or something! But as soon as we go to the cottages, Jeong Jeong said he knew exactly what was wrong. His intuition was kind of scary."

Meili looked downward. "I didn't mean to scare you guys. I just — I don't know what I was thinking."

"I know," Sokka spoke, smirking at the fact that he had repeated her own words.

Meili furrowed her brows. "You _don't_ know."

"Yes, I do."

Meili crossed her arms, clearly annoyed at the boy. "Oh yeah? Then why did I do it Mr. Know-It-All?"

Sokka cleared his throat, zoning his gaze in on her seafoam-green eyes. "There's _two_ reasons why actually. The first is that you _were_ telling the truth and really didn't want to slow us down on our journey to the Northern Water Tribe. The second one is something I know you won't admit, but again, you don't admit a lot of things."

"That's not true. I tell you guys a lot of things —only when you _need_ to know though."

"You didn't want us to help you," Sokka said pointedly, his voice no longer playful. "Something definitely happened in your past that you keep secret; it's why you try so hard to hide your scar and your emotions. But a cloak can only hide so much."

Meili's chest felt tight. "It's not that I don't _want_ your help, I don't _need_ it."

Sokka let out a huff. "It's the same reason why you always place your cot further from the campfire than ours. It's why you always walk behind us when we're traveling. It's also why you're so sarcastic. And _you_ stopping yourself from smiling earlier proved it to me: It's all a defense mechanism."

"What do you know?" Meili said sharply. "I've already said, you don't know anything."

"Then tell me I'm wrong," Sokka spoke softly.

Meili bit her lip, turning her head with annoyance. She knew he had backed her in a corner; everything from his gaze, to his body position, to his smug grin told her that she had nowhere to run. She could deny what he was saying, but he knew it would be a lie.

"I don't want you guys to be my friends. But it's more than that. There's so much underlying responsibility with friendships. It will only bring you down in the end. Everyone always turns on you."

"Now, that's just not true," Sokka objected. "Friendships can make you stronger. I mean, this trip has made my relationship with Katara so much better. We were always arguing back home, about everything. It was mostly about our dad and the warriors of our tribe, but this journey has shown us what is really important."

"That's your sister though, Ponytail. I have no family. I don't have any biological siblings. I don't have a mom or a dad. I'm alone."

"So is Aang."

Meili opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't bring herself to speak. Sokka was right: Meili always knew that her and Aang shared many similarities. And instead of embracing the group with distance, he was open and accepting.

"He's also the Avatar. He has far more wisdom and experience than any of us."

Sokka deadpanned. "Yes. The kid who made us watch him ride on top of a giant sea monster is _definitely_ filled with _so_ much wisdom."

"You know what I mean," Meili huffed. "Besides, I've always seen friendships like this. I wasn't friends with anyone in the Freedom Fighters either. It's always been easier this way."

Sokka leaned forward, placing his elbows onto his knees with his hands clasped in his lap. "It's not working anymore though, is it?"

"What do you mean?" Meili questioned.

"This _front_ you put up," Sokka clarified, gesturing with his hands. "I know you secretly really like Katara's company and view her as a friend, that's why you wanted to keep the scroll a secret. You didn't want her to leave."

Meili grew quiet, thinking back to the abbey and the beach.

"You're wrong," Meili muttered, grabbing a piece of her black hair to twirl in her finger.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. I knew Katara had declined the offer to leave."

Sokka's brain stuttered for a moment. He thought he had hit it right on the nail on why Meili acted the way she did. But as he stared at her, watching her gaze fidget between her lap and their surroundings, he found that he was wrong. Sokka had misinterpreted her actions, and now he had no clue as to why she had acted so weird at the abbey.

Sokka swallowed roughly. "Then, why did you hide the map from us?"

Meili kept her gaze in her lap, afraid that if she looked up, she would feel that weird feeling in her chest again — the weird one that felt like a weight and static at the same time. That weird _weird_ feeling Sokka had been educing from her recently. Especially now, in the moonlight, when his eyes sparkled with a silvery glow.

"Because, I…" she trailed off, her gaze falling down to his hands clasped together in his lap. His brown skin was so tempting to touch again, and not so she could get out his splinters. Meili felt her gaze travel up his lean arms, seeing the veins and muscles that rested underneath. She reminded herself that he wasn't attractive. That his softly-defined face and playful smile weren't attractive. That his bright blue eyes weren't captivating.

She shook her head and comically slapped her cheeks, trying to smack herself out of the trance she had fallen into.

"Because I just did! Okay? I just wanted to."

"That seems like a pretty weird reason to hide a map," Sokka said, and Meili swore she could see mirth in his eyes.

"Can you stop that?" Meili blustered, her face growing warm.

Sokka, still amused, leaned forward slightly more. "Stop what?"

"You know what you've been doing, Ponytail! You've been doing something to make me act different; I _know_ you have."

Sokka rose up an eyebrow, densely confused. "I haven't done anything, Meili. What are you talking about?"

"It started a little bit before we got to the abbey, but you should know that, because it's _your_ fault."

"What started?"

" _You_ , making me feel _weird_. Weirder than Aang and Katara make me feel. So stop it."

She immediately grabbed her hood and tugged it up over her head, drowning her face out in shadows so the boy could no longer see her face. Then, she threw her face into her hands. He was making her so mad, acting like he was innocent. He was pretending like it wasn't his fault that her heart was beating so fast, and that it wasn't his fault that her face was hot. But it _was_.

It was quiet for a few moments, neither one of them moving. Meili assumed that the boy was figuring out how to apologize to her. He was going to flash his sarcastic, dorky grin and smile and say, "I'm sorry, Meili. I slipped a tonic into your food one night that makes you slowly go crazy. It worked, and it's so funny! I won't do it again."

But instead, the boy gently grabbed the top of the cowl, slowly removing it from her head. The black curls fell around her shoulders once again, creating a canopy over her hand-covered face. Sokka dropped the hood slowly onto her back, moving his hand to Meili's chin, lifting her head up from her palms.

"What do you mean you feel weird around me?"

He had an inkling as to why she felt weird, but he wasn't going to make any assumptions until she told him. His father always told him that when hunting, it was always important to wait and listen before making a move. He wasn't exactly hunting, but he figured the same rules applied.

Her saw her turn her head in a gentle manner, probably to hide her expression — but he could see the tips of her ears, partially hidden from the messy, black curls of her hair, and they were bright red.

Sokka had never seen much of Meili's face, but the day he spent by her side, carving the crutch, he had taken the time to look at her. From what he remembered in the Kǎoshēng campsite, Meili had very delicate features. She had a small nose, rosy lips, and bright eyes. Classically, she was beautiful. And the more he looked at her when carving the crutch, the more her scar began to fade away in his mind.

Sokka had seen her unconscious, unmoving, quiet and serene. He had also seen her panicked — angry. But the emotion he always attributed with her was aloofness. Of course he had already deduced the sarcasm as a front, but all he knew of Meili was distance. With all of that, Sokka had never seen Meili blush; it was such a contrasting image to see on her normally stoic face.

That was why it was weird to see her so expressive, hinting that she felt way more emotion than she wanted them all to believe. Although, her cloak only helped to hide that.

It made his heart flutter ever so slightly.

"I mean, look at what's happening right now," she spoke lowly, keeping her gaze as far away from the boy as possible. "And, Ponytail, I swear if you snuck some kind of tonic into my food to make me feel like this — I will kick your ass into tomorrow."

"You're unbelievably clueless," Sokka muttered. He waited for her to compose herself, seeing the color in her face and ears fade slightly as her breathing slowed down before speaking again. "How long did you say you were in the Freedom Fighters for?"

"Three years," Meili said quietly, her face passive and expressionless once again as she stared back at Sokka.

"Did you ever … uh … like anyone while you were there?"

Meili nodded her head. "I mean, obviously, or else Jai and I wouldn't have stayed. Longshot and Geun were definitely two of my favorites, and Smellerbee was always very sweet —"

"Not like _that_ ," Sokka said, smacking himself in the head. "I mean have you ever had a crush on one of them? Or well, _anybody_ for that matter?"

"Of course not," Meili said with distaste. "I don't have time for any of that stuff. Besides, I already told you that relationships make people weak. I don't need anyone else, especially like _that_."

"Clueless," Sokka muttered once again.

"How am I clueless?" Meili snapped, her face growing angry. "If anything, _you're_ the one acting clueless. You know what you're doing, whether you want to admit it or not. So you need to stop; it's messing with my head."

"I'm not doing anything," Sokka grinned. "This is all you. And seeing you crash and burn is actually _very_ satisfying."

Meili abruptly sat up in her spot, not bothering to hide her anger. "If _you_ hadn't been making me feel so weird lately, I wouldn't have hidden the map to your father in the _first_ place. You and your stupid grin and your stupid ponytail, the thought of you leaving made my chest feel so heavy and my stomach churned and ached. And these are _actual_ results from a tonic; I've seen it happen before! And it's _not_ funny."

Sokka laughed, holding his stomach comically and falling backwards onto the rim of the saddle. "This is hilarious! I can't believe you can't see it. Forget the nickname white-cloaked monster: your new name is clueless."

Meili shook furiously as she soaked in the laughter, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. Why was he laughing?

"Stop laughing, Ponytail. This is a _serious_ issue."

He wiped his eye as he sat back up, still holding his stomach. "Yeah, it's seriously an issue that you're so clueless. Even I'm smart enough to see why you feel like this, and Katara regularly calls me an idiot."

"Of course you can see why, because _you're_ the one doing it," Meili grumbled, standing up in her spot and throwing her hood back on. "You can get the rest of the splinters out yourself. I'm going to bed."

"You're really mad over this?" Sokka questioned.

Meili reached into one of the packed bags and threw out her cot, forgoing a blanket altogether. "I said I'm going to bed; now leave me alone."

And thankfully, the boy did. She heard him stir around and get out his own sleeping items, putting the cot down right next to her, which she knew was on purpose. Aggravated, she tried to focus on the cool, winter air filling the saddle. She counted Aang's light puffs of air as he breathed. And she ignored her heart beating rampantly in her chest as she attempted to sleep.

Sokka found himself laying on his back, facing the stars and the moon shining down from above. Even though she didn't say it, Sokka knew that Meili was starting to have a crush on him. He didn't know how to feel about it, since he though he shared a special bond with Suki. They were only with each other for a few days, but the Kiyoshi Warrior was captivating in every way. She was witty, and brave, and challenging, and unbelievably beautiful.

But then again, so was Meili.

He pulled out his hair tie, raking his fingers into his hair to take out his frustrations. Why did Meili have to like him? He was content with viewing her as a white-cloaked monster with buck teeth and big ears. He was fine with their playful banter and arguments. But this made things so complicated.

Sokka stared at the moon, yearning for a moment of clarity — thinking that his solace underneath the light would give him the answer he needed. He closed his eyes and prayed to the spirits, hoping that they would tell him what he wanted to hear.

* * *

Thank you all again for reading! I hope everyone is staying safe during this pandemic, and I'll see you all again very soon. Don't forget to check out my Instagram Ochavenn to see what Meili looks like! I appreciate all of the love and support :) 3


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